


the fourth | ron weasley | p.o.a.

by krakensgirl (meganjeannette6)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Book 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Crushes, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Insecurity, Jealous Ron Weasley, Jealousy, Love Triangles, No Smut, Romance, Slow Burn, Teenagers, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28227303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meganjeannette6/pseuds/krakensgirl
Summary: josie avery is your average gryffindor going into her third year at Hogwarts, staying on top of her studies, making memories with her friends - but that all comes to a halt when the news that notorious mass-murderer Sirius Black is on the loose and hunting one of her classmates down. she doesn't expect it to affect her much, but once she learns the truth about her past, she turns out to be very mistaken.(WARNING: may contain language, drugs, and violence at points)-DISCLAIMER: All Harry Potter characters & plots are credited to J.K. Rowling ~~im taking Prisoner of Azkaban and adding a little twist on it, with a little hint of romance here and there!~-CROSS POSTED ON WATTPAD @ ronsgal99 -
Relationships: Ron Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. third year

"Mum, where's my trunk?" Josie called out from her room, hoping her mother, who was downstairs preparing dinner for the pair. 

"It's in the wardrobe, dear!" Her mother answered. 

Josie rolled her sleeves up and brushed her hair out of her face, opening the great oak wardrobe in the corner of her room, fishing through the clothes until she felt the handle. Sighing in relief, she pulled the object out. A large, dark brown trunk bound in leather with little patches sewn into the sides. 

She heaved it onto her small twin bed, brushing off the little amount of dust that collected as it sat over the summer. She was so excited to get back to Hogwarts, it was her happy place. Not that she didn't like being at home with her mother, but her friends weren't here. 

Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati were her three closest friends. She first met Lavender on the train to Hogwarts during her first year, and she introduced her to Parvati, then to Hermione as time went on. Hermione didn't spend a lot of time with them, since she was usually busy with her other two friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Josie never really hung out with Hermione's other friends, but she couldn't exactly say she didn't want to. She was always fond of Harry, since she grew up knowing all about his story and how he defeated You-Know-Who. She had always wanted to insert herself into their group somehow, jealous of how close the three seemed to be. 

Just as Josie was getting her trunk packed, her mother pushed her door open more, allowing her cat, Gemini, to enter and climb onto the clothes she was folding. 

"All packed?" Her mother questioned, sipping from a small, painted cup, most likely filled with herbal tea. 

"Almost," Josie huffed, picking Gem up and placing her on her pillows instead, closing up her trunk that was now filled the brim with her things, "Done." 

"I was thinking we could go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Get you some new robes, maybe a new quill?" Josie perked up at the thought of some new robes, her old ones were getting a bit too small for her. She wouldn't mind stopping in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour either. 

"That sounds amazing," She smiled to her loving mother, sitting down next to her pet, "I can write to Hermione to tell her I'll be there, she's staying with the Weasley's there." 

"Of course, dear. You can borrow Jewel." Her mother turned her head out the door, whistling. After a few seconds, her trusty Tawny owl, Jewel, flew into Jose's room, landing on the window sill. 

"Thanks, mum." Josie smiled, showing her appreciation as she sat at her small wooden desk, grabbing a spare bit of parchment and an old quill, opening a tiny bottle of ink and she started to write: 

"Dear Hermione, 

Hello, I hope you are well. How was your summer? I'm so excited to see you and the girls again this year. 

I'll be in Diagon Alley with my mum tomorrow, probably around noon. I heard you were staying there, at the Leaky Cauldron? With the Weasley family? And Harry Potter? I hope you're enjoying yourself.

I'll be going to Madam Malkin's first, then we can meet up for some ice cream after if you'd like? You can bring your friends. The more the merrier. 

Let me know as soon as you can. 

Sincerely, 

Josie"

She smiled down at the drying parchment, putting the quill away and rolling the paper once it had finished drying. Shuffling across the room, she tied the note to Jewel's leg.

"Bring this to Hermione Granger, will you? She's at the Leaky Cauldron, in London." Smiling, she stroked the owl's head a few times before she flew out the window. 

"Alright, dear, come down for some supper. I made steak and kidney pie." Her mother requested before turning and going downstairs, Josie quickly following her as her stomach groaned. She would miss her mother's cooking, but Hogwarts always had amazing food. 

\- 

After dinner, the two girls sat in the den, going over the things they would be needing the next day. 

"Some new robes, a quill or two, maybe we could stop into that sweets shop near the Apothecary? I heard they were selling chocolate frogs with the extra rare cards. I would like to work on my collection." Mrs. Avery grinned to herself as she flipped through the book she was reading, Healing Through the Wand, Not the Heart: A Witch's Guide on Basic Healing Incantations. 

Josie was busying herself, nodding along to her mother's ideas, checking over her list of supplies required for third year. Once she reached the end of the letter, Jewel had returned with a large roll of paper. 

"Oh, she must have brought a copy of the Prophet," Her mother spoke, putting her book down, "Will you hand it to me, sweetheart?" 

Josie reached forward, pulling the roll off the owl's leg, a smaller letter slipping out of the pages. She handed the roll to her mother, opening the letter that was addressed to her with an eager smile but she dropped the paper when she heard her mother gasp. 

"Mum, what's wrong?" Josie asked, her heart racing from the surprise as she leaned down to pick up the letter once again, keeping her eyes on her mother. Mrs. Avery pursed her lips, quickly stuffing the copy of the Daily Prophet into the cushion. 

"Nothing, darling, just-" She paused, seemingly thinking up a lie, "Just a protest gone wrong at the Ministry. It ended with a casualty - that's all, dear." Mrs. Avery nodded to her daughter, but Josie remained skeptical of her mother's behavior. 

"Whatever you say, mum," She shook it off, standing up, "I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow morning." After leaning down to kiss her mother goodnight, she hurried up the stairs, tearing the letter open. Getting into her bed, she read the letter: 

"Dear Josie, 

I've had a great summer, I hope yours was well, too. Yes, I'm currently staying with the Weasley's at the Leaky Cauldron. My parents were wary about leaving me in the Wizarding World early, but they caved eventually. 

I'd love to meet up with you tomorrow. I doubt the boys will want to tag along, they are too busy gawking over that new broomstick in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies. 

I'll meet you at Florean's around half past twelve, alright? I can't wait to see you. 

Stay safe, 

Hermione"

Josie's smile disappeared as she read the last line of the letter. 'Stay safe'? What did she mean by that? Maybe Hermione was referring to the protest at the Ministry her mother told her about. Hermione was into all that activism stuff, maybe that was it. 

Shrugging it off, she changed into her pajamas, cuddling up to Gem as she started to drift off to sleep. But no matter how much she tried to forget about Hermione's ominous warning, she couldn't shake it off. 

Why would she need to stay safe?


	2. diagon alley

The following morning was quite hectic since Mrs. Avery seemed to misplace the container of Floo powder. Josie continued to complain as she helped her mother look for the jar. It took about twenty minutes to find it, but once they did, it didn't take long for the two to travel. 

Josie has used the Floo Network since she was able to talk, but she never got used to the feeling of being engulfed in emerald flames and the pulling sensation it brought. She had once misspoke once, when she was traveling with her mother to her nan's home in Liverpool. She ended up in some muggles' fireplace, causing complete chaos when the elderly couple saw a young girl emerge from their fireplace. Her mother found her in seconds and oblivated them, of course, but it was traumatic enough for her to learn her lesson on speaking clearly.

Coughing, Josie swung her arm in an effort to minimize the smoke filling her lungs. She emerged from the hearth in the Magical Menagerie, one of the few shops that held an available opening. Her mother was waiting for her at the counter, talking to the elderly witch behind it. 

"Ah! There you are. Well, we should be going, see you later, dear!" Mrs. Avery called out to the shop owner, waving as she ushered Josie out. The two walked out of the shop and down the cobblestone street which was filled with witches and wizards. The streets were bustling, the noise was echoing all around her as Josie entered Madam Malkin's with her mother. 

Madam Malkin herself was standing there at the door with a measuring tape and a smile. 

"Hello, Lenora! And hello Josie, what can I do for you two today?" The small, white haired witch inquired. 

"We're just in need of some new robes for Josie here." Mrs. Avery smiled as she patted Josie's back. 

"Oh my, you've grown so much since you got your first pair of robes! Becoming such a beautiful young lady, you are." Madam Malkin smiled as she unwound her tape, the enchanted, neon roll undoing itself and measuring Josie's body all by itself. Malkin huffed as she wrote down her measurements, snapping when she was done, and the roll disappeared. 

"Right, follow me, dear." Malkin turned on her heels and shuffled over to a wall full of black school robes. She tutted to herself as she scanned the wall, finally grabbing one just the right size for her. 

"Perfect, we'll take it." Mrs. Avery said, walking off with Madam Malkin with the robe in her hands. Josie quickly followed, wishing they would hurry so she wouldn't be late to meet Hermione.

\- 

After a long catch up between her mother and Madam Malkin, they finally made their way out of the shop and headed down the street towards Florean's when her mother stopped. 

"Darling, would you be okay going ahead on your own for a while? I need to speak with Gregory at the Apothecary." 

"No, of course, mum. Go ahead. I'll be around." Josie shared a reassuring smile with her mother as her mother took the bag containing Josie's new robe, hurrying off in the opposite direction. Making her way to Florean's, she bought herself a small butterbeer flavored cream, sitting down at a small table near the window. 

She kept a close eye on the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes to when Hermione would enter. But only after a minute or two, the bells that alerted the shop when someone was entering rang. In walked Hermione; 

Along Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Josie couldn't help but notice her heartbeat quicken, suddenly nervous at the unexpected company her friend had brought along. Hermione smiled as she hurried over to Josie, the other two trudging along behind her. 

"Josie! It's so good to see you!" Hermione squealed as she hugged her friend, sitting down close next to her. The boys did a 180, turning to the counter and buying some creams for themselves. 

"'Mione, you said they weren't going to be coming," Josie murmured, absentmindedly fixing her fly away hairs, "What gives?" 

"There was a huge crowd in the Quidditch shop, so they decided to tag along. You said you wouldn't mind, remember?" Hermione answered in a hush tone to match Josie's. Just as she was about to answer, the boys came up to the table, sitting across from the girls, holding their ice creams. 

Harry sat across from Hermione, holding the same flavor of cream Josie got. His piercing green eyes glancing up every now and then through his round glasses. She noticed how messy his hair was, since the fringe had been hiding his scar perfectly. Then there was Ron. He sat straight across from Josie, noticeably avoiding her eyes. His shaggy ginger hair laying in a mess, his freckles seemingly more prominent than the year before. 

"Hey guys," Josie spoke up after a few minutes of awkward silence, "How was your summer?" 

"It was fine. Pretty boring, actually." Harry answered, Hermione huffed beside her. 

"Boring? You nearly got expelled, Harry." She spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I told you, it was an accident!" He groaned, putting the bowl of ice cream on the table. Josie glanced at Hermione with a curious brow.

"Harry here nearly got himself kicked out of school for blowing up his aunt." She answered Josie's silent question. 

"Yeah, it was wicked, if you ask me." The red haired boy finally spoke up, the two boys snickering to themselves, causing Hermione to huff again. Josie couldn't help but stifle a giggle. The two boys stopped, looking over to her. She immediately stopped, her cheeks burning, getting the feeling they didn't want her in on their jokes. 

"So," Hermione tried eagerly to change the subject, "How are you? How's your mum? Did you two make it here safe?" She asked, turning to Josie. There she went again, asking about her safety. 

"Why would we need to be safe? Hermione, we haven't even gone near the Ministry today, we're fine, I promise." She reassured her, hoping that wound ease her mind, but it seemed to puzzle Hermione even more. 

"What are you talking about?" She asked. 

"The protest? At the Ministry? My mum told me. She read it on the front page of the Daily Prophet," Josie explained, "That's what you're referring to, right?" 

"Josie, there wasn't a protest at the Ministry." Hermione stated, leaving Josie confused. Her mother wouldn't lie to her, would she?

"What are you talking about, 'Mione?" Josie was almost too nervous to ask, but she needed to know why everyone seemed so off. 

"Sirius Black. He's escaped from Azkaban." Right after the last words left Hermione's lips, a chill ran down Josie's spin. Sirius Black, out in the open? Able to kill anyone that gets in his way? 

"But," Josie shook her head, "No one has ever escaped from Azkaban before. There has to be a mistake. He's one of the most dangerous killers in the Wizarding World." She nearly quivered at the thought of it.

"Well it's true, and he's-" 

"He's after me." Harry cut Hermione off, causing the group to all look to him. 

"But why?" Josie questioned.

"He was the one who told Voldemort where my parents were the night they died," The three of them shuddered at the mention of his name, "'Suppose he wants to finish the job with me." Harry finished, looking grim. 

"That's awful, Harry," Josie frowned, saddened by the idea, "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. Just gotta keep out of trouble, yeah?" He answered, sending a smirk to his friend beside him, much to Hermione's dismay. 

"You have better, Dumbledore won't be around you twenty-four seven, you know? You need to help yourself by staying safe." Hermione pleaded.

"We get it, Hermione, now can we talk about something else?" Harry begged, groaning at her nagging tone. 

"Fine. Josie, tell us. What did you decide to take this term?" Hermione asked, a sudden smile appearing on her face as the topic of school arose. 

"I chose Divination. And Care of Magical Creatures!" Josie smiled to her friend, who seemed to like the sound of her choices. 

"We're all taking those then! That's great, hopefully we'll see each other more this year then, yeah?" She sounded hopeful, Josie agreed, glancing over to the boys. They looked fairly neutral about the idea of her getting closer to them, which made Josie feel a bit off. 

"Yeah, definitely." Josie felt like she needed to prove herself to the boys, since they didn't seem too keen on the idea of her at all. She would make it a point to be friendly to them, she decided, her fatal flaw of needing to be accepted showing itself prominently. 

Another awkward silence fell upon the group, only to be interrupted by two tall, older boys walking in. Both red haired and extremely freckled, too. They could only be the Weasley twins

"Oi, Ron, c'mon, the crowd's gone," The one of the left spoke.

"Lee's saving us a spot right in the window, she's a beaut." The one of the right finished. The two boys at the table grinned to each other, getting up and pushing their chairs in. Ron shared a glance with Josie, and she found her heart starting to beat faster again. His blue eyes met her hazel ones, time seeming to slow a bit before he spoke up again. 

"You've got soot." He stated, turning to Harry with a smirk. The two boys followed the twins out of the shop with quiet snickers, leaving Josie's cheeks bright red as she rubbed her face all over, getting the soot off. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed, she probably looked like an idiot with soot all over her face. How could she forget to clean herself up before meeting with her friend? Hermione could tell she was feeling a bit off from Ron's comment, changing the subject again quickly.

"Did you cut your hair? It looks so lovely." She complimented, but Josie simply shook her head. 

"No."

"Well it still looks lovely. And don't worry about them, they're annoying." She insisted, standing up.

"Well, I've got to get back to the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley insists on teaching me how to fold my clothes 'properly'. Even though I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself," She huffed at the thought, "I'll see you tomorrow? On the train?" 

"Yeah, I'll see you. Have fun with.. folding." Josie laughed softly, giving Hermione a quick hug before she left, leaving Josie alone with her half-finished butterbeer ice cream. She frowned, throwing the remaining cream away, too upset with herself to finish. 

She quickly made her way out of the ice cream parlor, catching a quick glance at Ron and Harry huddled up to the window of the Quidditch supply shop with the twins and their other friend. 

Just as she was about to turn towards the Apothecary, Ron turned around from his spot, catching a glimpse of Josie. Half of her wanted to just look away and hurry on, but she couldn't help herself. She was expecting him to glare at her from the way he was acting towards her in the ice cream shop, but to her surprise, he gave her a small, polite smile. 

A small smile. She just got a small smile out of the boy she surprisingly thought was quite cute. She never thought he was cute before, maybe that was because he never really smiled at her like that before. He never really acknowledged her in general before. 

She quickly returned the smile, and she was going to wave to him, but one of his brothers nudged him with their elbow, causing him to turn back to the window abruptly. 

"Josie! There you are." She quickly turned to see her mother, holding another bag other than the one containing her robe. 

"Hey, mum. Got anything good?"

-

After a bit more shopping, Josie finally made her way home with her mother, their pockets significantly lighter. 

Josie was quiet all through their dinner, which alarmed her mother.

"Josie, dear, what's wrong? You've hardly touched your dinner. And you're quiet. Tell me, won't you?" Her mother begged, visibly uncomfortable at the tension.

"Why didn't you tell me the truth yesterday?" Josie put her fork down, feeling kind of betrayed by her mother. 

"What on earth are you talking about?" Mrs. Avery asked, her lips pursing again, like they always do when she's tense.

"You said there was a protest at the Ministry. That someone died. There was no protest. Hermione told me." Her arms folded over her chest, her brows pulling into an angry furrow.

"Josie, I-" 

"She said Sirius Black escaped. That's why you gasped yesterday. Why didn't you just tell me? I deserve to know, I'm apart of the Wizarding World, too." Josie spat out at her mother, her tone sounding cold and rigid.

"Josephine, don't you dare talk to me like that. I didn't tell you because you're too young to know about him, and too young to worry about it." Mrs. Avery snapped at her daughter. Josie winced when her mother used her full name, she only did that when the matter was serious. She didn't understand why she was so upset about this topic.

"I just wanted you to tell me the truth, and not find out from my friend, who had to explain it to me like I was an idiot." Josie now stood at the table.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But you don't need to know about him. You already know enough from word of mouth, he isn't important to you or me or this family. So drop it, Josephine." Her mother sipped from her goblet, seemingly nonchalant now, which made Josie's anger rise even more. 

"I'm not a baby, mum! I can handle it! He's going after one of my classmates! I'll find out one way or another." Josie fumed at her mother, who wasn't having any of it. Mrs. Avery stood up, looking her in the eye before speaking. 

"There will be no more talk about that vile creature in this household. Do you understand me, Josephine?" As the words left her mother's mouth, Josie felt tears prickling her eyes. She held herself together, not wanting her mother to know just how much her tone got to her. 

Instead of furthering the argument, Josie stormed out of the den and went up to her room, slamming the door shut. Gemini, who was sleeping peacefully on her pillow, jumped awake. After kicking her trunk out of frustration, she sat next to her cat, sniffling and trying to contain her angry tears. 

She hated when her mother treated her like a kid, and that's exactly what she was doing. But she just had to put it out of her mind, because it would only be a few hours till she's on the train and unable to see her mother for months. She lay herself down, stroking Gem's back as she fell asleep, fantasizing about the year she's got ahead of her.


	3. hogwarts express

Josie and her mother kept to each other the following morning, the tension still high from the conversation they had at dinner the night before. Just like usual, Mrs. Avery made Josie a nice, English breakfast. It was sort of tradition for her mother to do this, but this year it was awkward because of their fight. 

No matter how upset she was at her mother for lying to her, she would always be accepting and grateful of her cooking. Her food acted as sort of a peace-offering, the two eventually chatting like normal as they ate their food. All tension seemed to subside for the time being, being replaced quickly by the chaotic running around the pair did, trying to get Josie's things all ready to go. 

Once they got everything, Josie grabbed Gemini, holding her close as they traveled through Floo to Diagon Alley. Making sure to clean herself up this time, she followed her mother out into the muggle-ridden area of London, hurrying towards King's Cross. 

"Every year there's more and more muggles, isn't it lovely?" Mrs. Avery smiled down at her daughter, who was pushing her trolley next to her. 

"Yeah, it's just a bit hard to run through the platform when there's muggles everywhere.." Josie murmured. Of course, she was completely fine with muggles and muggleborn wizards. She was so thankful that her mother taught her to not be prejudice against non-pure bloods. She saw no point in judging a wizard's capability on whether their parents were muggles or not. Hermione was muggleborn, and she was the best witch in their year. 

Josie had a point to her statement, however. It was quite difficult to not be obvious when running at Platform 9 3/4. They made it, though, after thoroughly making sure no muggles were paying attention. 

The scarlet red train stood proudly in the middle of the platform, wizards all around bustling with trunks and various animal companions. She immediately spotted Lavender, talking to Parvati excitedly. She waved with a smile, but to her surprise, they didn't seem to acknowledge her on purpose. Confused, she walked past with her mother towards an entry into the train. 

"Alright, you've got Gem, you've got your new robes, your quills, books-" 

"I've got everything, mum." Josie cut her mother off with a smile, her mother's expression turning to sorrow, just like it did every year when they said their goodbyes. 

After a few more minutes of hugs and kisses, Josie made her way on to the train, hurrying to a window with her cat in her arms, waving furiously to her mother as the train started moving. Josie waved and blew kisses to her mother up until the train turned out of the station, her mother growing smaller and smaller until she was out of sight. 

Josie immediately searched the compartment that held her two friends. She needed to know why they seemed to be ignoring her. After a few minutes of searching through the windows, she finally came to a compartment filled with Lavender, Parvati, Padma (Parvati's sister), two Ravenclaw girls and a Hufflepuff boy. Josie pulled the door open, stepping in at once. 

"Hey, guys, remember me?" Josie asked with a hint of sarcasm as she folded her arms, looking at her friends. They looked up from the book they were reading, Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky, their expressions turning sour. 

"Yes. We remember you, Josephine." Lavender spat viciously, making Josie's fists clench. 

"What's the deal? Why are you two ignoring me?" She asked through gritted teeth, almost not wanting to know the answer. 

"You've got bad stuff coming your way and we don't want anything to do with it." Parvati answered, turning up her nose at Josie. 

"Is that a threat, Patil?" Josie questioned, taking a step towards the girls, who cowered in front of her. 

"No! Don't be stupid! It's in your future! We read your chart, to prepare for Divination!" Lavender muttered as she cowered against her friend. Josie couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

"Are you kidding me? You're being cold to me because of a chart? You two are ridiculous." Josie declared, deciding to remove herself from the situation before she escalated it. Opening the compartment back up, she slammed the door behind her, her arms folding over her chest as she stormed down the hallway. 

She was so focused on her anger that she barely noticed the person she was about to bump into until it actually happened. 

She brushed shoulders with the tall person, but got caught on their shoulder by her robes, causing her to stumble on her feet and land right in the arms of the person. She looked up at who the poor person was that she fell on. 

Ron Weasley. 

Her cheeks burned furiously as she pushed herself back onto her feet, steadying herself as she avoided his eyes, completely embarrassed. 

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm really sorry-" 

"Don't be. You're fine." Ron interrupted her sentence, a small smile displaying across his lips. Josie blinked at him a few times before answering. 

"Okay," she nodded, "I didn't step on your feet, did I?" She inquired, glancing down to them then back up to his face, noticing his ears turning a shade of pink. 

"No, you're fine, Josie." He answered, shaking his head, his floppy red hair bouncing gently. He's never really said her name before, and hearing him say it now made her swoon a bit. Just as she was going to say something else, the compartment door next to them opened with a jolt. It was Hermione. 

"There you are! Did you see Lavender and Parvati yet?" She asked, her tone audibly filled with worry. She must have found out about this bad stuff coming Josie's way. 

"Yeah. I did. I asked them what their problem was, then they told me they didn't want to be around me. All because of a stupid chart. How thick can they get?" Josie spat out, her anger rising again. Hermione could tell she was getting worked up, so she pulled her into the compartment. Ron followed then shut the door. Harry was sitting on the left bench, while a mysterious figure rested on the window, appearing to be asleep. 

"They're just gullible. I read through that book they were looking through, it's filled with rubbish." Hermione reported, sitting next to the mysterious man, her cat, Crookshanks, hopping into her lap. 

"You're just cross 'cuz you don't understand what's in it." Harry chuckled, plopping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans bean into his mouth with a devious smirk. Hermione let out an exasperated groan. 

"That is not true! I understand it completely. It's just simply not logical. How can Josie be doomed because Saturn is conjunct with Pluto? It's rubbish." She hissed at the dark haired boy, who put his hands up in defeat. Josie sat down next to Hermione. 

"Don't worry about them." Hermione said just as the train came to a halting stop. The crew collectively gasped, Crookshanks waking up from his slumber on Hermione's lap. 

"What's going on?" Josie asked, going to stand up but the train made another jolt, causing her to fall back into her seat. Students all through the train peeked their heads out, obvious chatter flowing through the hall. 

"'Dunno, maybe we've broken down?" Harry said, his statement sounding more like a question. Just then, a cold, crisp draft flew into the compartment, causing Josie to shiver. It was light and warm before, but now it was all dark and freezing since the lights blinked until they completely shut off. 

The air seemed to diminish from her lungs as the window fogged, condensation forming as the outside of the window froze over completely. Her heart started racing, looking towards Hermione for comfort. 

What happened next came so fast it was almost forgettable. A dark, floating cloaked figure crept into the hallway, waving a boney hand as the door slid open. Josie was frozen, she felt all of the happiness and light that was in her slip away as the figure floated in, turning it's head until it landed it's eyes on Harry. She didn't understand what she was witnessing, the figure was almost sucking Harry's face; literally. It didn't happen long, because the mysterious man in the corner stood up immediately, holding his wand up as a bright, white vapor burst out of it's tip. 

The cloaked figure shrieked as the light from the man's wand shielded Harry and the rest of the group. The man walked forward until the figure finally flew out of the compartment. She turned her attention to Harry, who had just fainted and fell down into a laying position on the bench. 

-

It was only a few minutes until everything seemed to go back to normal. The lights came back on, the train warmed as it started moving again. Even Harry was up and awake again, after given chocolate by the mysterious man. As soon as he walked out, the group spoke at once. 

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron asked, nervously holding his brown, sickly-looking rat. 

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked him directly, he only nodded in response. 

"What did that man do to it? Who is he, anyway?" Josie asked, noticing Gemini on her lap. She must have slipped in when the door opened. 

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Hermione answered simply, a scoff coming from Ron. 

"How is it you know everything?" He asked sarcastically. 

"It's on his suitcase, Ronald." She hissed, rolling her eyes as his ears turned pink again. Josie laughed softly at her remark, Ron's ears only turning a deeper shade of pink. 

"Did anyone else hear a screaming?" Harry asked abruptly, the group turning towards him. 

"No one was screaming, Harry." Hermione said softly, her voice worry-ridden. 

"But," he started, "But I heard it. I heard a woman. Screaming." He looked to his friends then at Josie. 

"Maybe you should lay down until we get there, mate." Ron said, patting Harry on the shoulder. 

\- 

The compartment was quiet until the train stopped at Hogsmeade Station. Hermione followed Josie out behind Ron and Harry, all three of them watching him like a hawk in case he decided to faint again. 

After the carriage ride up to the castle, the four followed the crowd into the entrance hall, passing Professor McGonagall who was in front of the first years, giving her usually spiel. Josie followed Hermione closely, thanking her for inviting her to sit with them since Lavender and Parvati sat as far away from her as possible. 

Josie didn't seem to mind as she got used to her new surroundings. As the group ate after the Sorting and Dumblebore's speech, they chatted about their summers and quidditch and such. All was well until they heard a vile hiss behind them. 

"Potter, Potter, is it true you fainted?" Draco Malfoy asked from the Slytherin table, his friends laughing next to him. "I mean you actually fainted?" 

Hermione glared at him as she turned Harry back around, telling him to ignore them. 

"He's such a prick." Josie stated, sipping from her goblet. The three of them looked up at her, causing her to worry if she had soot on her face or something else embarrassing like that. "What?"

"We didn't know if you were cool with them or not." Harry said. 

"Yeah, but now that we know you're not, you're good." Ron finished with a smile. Josie relaxed, nodding gently, feeling happier than she had in the past few days. 

This term would be a lot better than the previous, she was determined to make it so. Even if Lavender and Parvati thought she was going to be in trouble.


	4. the grim

The next morning, Josie couldn't wait to get down to the Great Hall. The first breakfast back before lessons begun was always the best. She swung her legs over the edge of her four poster bed, drawing the curtains quickly to reveal an empty room where Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and Fay Dunbar, another Gryffindor who didn't talk much, would normally be. 

"They must all be downstairs already." Josie muttered to herself as she stood, opening her dresser, pulling out her uniform and robes. Dressing quickly, she searched all through her dresser and then her trunk for her wand, cursing to herself for misplacing it. 

She finally found it at the bottom of her trunk, her English oak wood, dragon heartstring wand. It was quite unique in it's looks, it had a dark finish with a sturdy handle, a small wire-looking vine wrapping around the length, small jewels lining the vine. She had had her wand since she first went to Ollivander's Wand Shop when she was eleven, just like every wizard. 

After fixing herself up in her mirror, which included brushing her long, dark hair and making sure her tie was tied on just right, she made her way down the spiral staircase and into the Gryffindor common room. It was crowded with students, all loudly chatting about their lesson schedules and complaining about taking lessons with the Slytherins. 

She passed the Weasley twins and their friend Lee Jordan whispering to a few first years, looking quite suspicious, but she paid no mind to them - she had to go down and get her schedule. 

\- 

She found Hermione sitting across the table from Harry and Ron, who were frowning at their schedules as Hermione ate her porridge with a confident grin. Sitting down next to her, Josie found her plate already filled with breakfast food - gotta love magic. 

Just as she began to eat, Professor McGonagall walked up to the group's table. 

"Ah! There you are, Miss Avery. Here is your schedule for this term. I'll see you lot this afternoon." She handed Josie the piece of parchment, walking off as fast as she came. Josie glanced down to it, nodding as she saw that she had Divination then Transfiguration with the trio. 

"Hermione," Ron said abruptly, "it looks like they've messed up your schedule. Look - they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time." 

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall." She stated, not looking up from her book. 

"But look," He insisted, grabbing her schedule, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggles Studies. And-" He paused, leaning closer to the parchment, his eyes squinting in disbelief, "look - underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?" He finished, Hermione huffing in response. 

"Don't be silly, of course I won't be in three classes at once." She said shortly. Josie could tell she was getting annoyed at his poking, so she decided to interrupt. 

"Can you pass the marmalade, Harry?" She inquired, glancing up at the seemingly far-away boy. He simply nodded, sliding the jar over to her. She grabbed the spreader and put a generous amount on her toast. Just then, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds, Hagrid, walked up to the table with a jolly smile. 

"Good morning, you lot," He smiled down at the three of them until he noticed Josie, "Well, hello Josie. How was your summer?" He asked, the other three turning to look at her. Her cheeks burned a little, not used to this many eyes on her. 

"Fine, thanks, Hagrid." She answered with a polite smile. 

"Ah! Thas' Professor Hagrid to you lot now!" He beamed at the kids, nodding to them and hurrying off to the staff table.

"He's gonna be great, I expect," Josie said as she watched him walk off, "He's got a ton of experience with magical creatures. Right?" 

"Yeah, magical monsters, maybe." Ron snickered to Harry, Josie didn't quite understand, but she decided to leave it as the bell alerted them that it was time to head to their first lesson - Divination.

\- 

After what felt like years to find the North Tower, the group climbed up the silvery ladder that fell through a trapped door, pulling themselves into the dark, warm room that was lined with at least twenty circular tables draped in various fabrics. There were fluffy armchairs and poufs surrounding them, three to a table. Josie's heart sunk when she saw the group sit at a table together, the only open one being occupied by Lavender and Parvati. She huffed to herself, sucking up her pride and sitting down at the table. 

The two girls moved their chairs as far away from her as possible, cowering into themselves and wincing every time Josie pulled something out of her bag. Rolling her eyes, she waited silently for Professor Trelawney, catching Ron's glimpse every now and then when he would look around the room. She didn't have much time to react before a shrill, shaking voice emerged from the shadows. 

"Welcome," it said. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last." The voice finished just as a person appeared from the same shadows. It was Trelawney. She was very thin, and had insanely large glasses that magnified her eyes so much they were bulging. She was draped in a shawl, chains and beads hanging around her neck, bangles and bracelets littered her arms. 

"Welcome to Divination," She started, but Josie didn't really care to pay attention to the rest of her introduction. She knew a fair amount of stuff about Divination from her mother, and she fairly enjoyed it. But she had other matters on her mind. Like what the two girls next to her were whispering about. Her former friends were sharing nervous glances and frequently checking that stupid book that no doubt told them all about how much danger Josie was in. 

"Now I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup to your partner and read." She instructed, much to Josie's dismay. All around the room, students got up and did as she said, Josie following along wearily, knowing neither girl at her table would be willing to read her leaves.

After sitting back down, she sipped her tea, looking through the book at the different shapes and meanings. She was waiting for the remaining tea to drain, in a lull daze until a shriek from across the room jolted her to attention. Trelawney sunk into her chair, looking absolutely terrified. The whole class was interested, Josie realized why she was acting this way because Harry and Ron were exchanging nervous glances to each other. 

"My dear boy... my poor, dear boy.. no.. it is kinder not to say... no... don't ask me." She pleaded, making the students worry and ask her what she was on about. Josie leaned forward a bit, glancing down at the cup in Ron's hand, it was Harry's since they switched. It was shaped like a lump with two bumps on the top - a head maybe? An animal? 

"My dear," Professor Trelawney started, getting up from her chair, "you have the Grim." The class was silent apart from Lavender and Parvati's shrieks, they were obviously the only ones who understood.

"The what?" said Harry. 

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry didn't understand, "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen - the worst omen - of death!" Everyone was looking to Harry except for Josie, who had curiously flipped her own cup upside down. 

Her heart sank once again when she realized that the leaves at the bottom looked exactly like Harry's. Heart pounding, she quickly scooped the leaves out and onto the saucer. Her mind was whirling - Lavender and Parvati were right. She was in danger. But why? No one wanted to hurt her, that she knew of. Harry was of course a huge target, to You-Know-Who and apparently to Sirius Black, who was searching for him. But Josie? 

She had no enemies. Except maybe Pansy Parkinson from Slytherin, but even she wasn't her enemy. She decided she wasn't going to tell anyone about her leaves, not even Hermione. She would worry too much, she already had enough to think about with helping Harry. 

She would just be extra careful. Maybe she would write to home, for some form of comfort. She definitely wouldn't be telling her about this though. 

\- 

Transfiguration went just as it always did, except Josie had a new seat next to Harry instead of Parvati. She kept to herself as she wrote down everything on the chalkboard ahead of her, still thinking about who could possibly want to do harm to her when she overheard a conversation between the three and McGonagall, who was telling them just what she thinks of Trelawney's profession. 

"I see, then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues-" She paused, her lips pursing, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney-" She paused again, then spoke with a matter-of-fact tone to Harry, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in." 

The whole class tried to conceal their laughter except for Josie, she wasn't laughing at all. Sure, Trelawney might have been messing with Harry, but they didn't know she had the same exact shape in her cup. Was it all a joke, or was one of them in actual danger?

\- 

Once the class had finished, Josie found herself walking next to Hermione as she spoke to Harry, the group making their way to lunch.

"But you haven't seen a big black dog, have you?" She asked. 

"Yes, I have," he said, "The other night, when I left the Dursleys'." He looked to her as they all sat down. 

"Probably just a stray," Hermione replied calmly, glancing to Josie with a curious brow, "You okay, Josie? You haven't said anything since breakfast." 

The group turned to her as she sat, fixing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She still wanted to keep the information to herself, but she was dying to tell someone.

"I'm fine. Just a bit hungry." She lied, keeping her head down as the plate in front of her filled with a meal. She barely even picked at it before someone spoke up.

"'Just a bit hungry', you liar. You've not even eating." Ron stated, his words slurred by the sandwich that filled his mouth. 

"Do you think Trelawney was serious about your leaves, Harry?" Josie leaned in a bit, her words hushed.

"I dunno, 'suppose so. It isn't completely out of the ordinary for someone to want to kill me." He said seriously, earning a small laugh from Ron. That didn't ease Josie's thoughts, unfortunately. It only made them worse. 

"Don't let her fill your head with rubbish, Josie." Hermione butted in, eating a bit of her salad. Josie felt a bit eased at Hermione's distrust in Trelawney, if she was skeptical, then there was a good chance she was working herself up for nothing. 

\- 

After their lessons were finished for the day, Josie followed Hermione to the common room, the boys had walked off some time after their final class. Hermione kept looking at Josie, trying to figure out what was wrong before she stopped her in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady. 

"Alright, enough of this. What's going on? You're never this quiet. C'mon, spit it out." She folded her arms with a scowl, standing in front of the painting that was practicing her arpeggios. Josie knew Hermione meant business, so she decided to just tell her.

"You know how Harry had that shape in his cup? The Grim, or whatever?" Josie muttered nervously. Hermione nodded.

"I had the same exact shape in my cup." Hermione gasped at this piece of knowledge, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh Merlin, Josie, why didn't you say something? Do you know if anyone is after you? How could it be, both you and Harry having the same shape? I mean, not that I believe that rubbish, but if there's a chance that it could be true, what Trelawney said, then we need to be aware." She went on a spiel, making Josie even more upset.

"No one is out to get me, I don't understand why I had the same shape. I think it was just a fluke. Like you said, she talks rubbish. I doubt I'm in any real danger.." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Hermione. 

"Still, Josie, maybe this is a sign. Maybe someone's after you and you just don't know it," Hermione turned and said the password to the portrait, which swung open immediately, "Don't worry, I'll be on the look out for you. And Ron and Harry will be, too. They're your friends now too, you know. Don't be afraid to talk to them. Especially Ron." She smirked as she hurried into the common room, Josie quickly following.

"I am not afraid to talk to Ron!" Josie folded her arms as she sat across her friend at a wooden table. Hermione pulled her books out and unrolled a piece of parchment, still smirking. 

"Oh don't be silly, I can tell you get nervous around him. Really, Josie? Of all the boys at Hogwarts and you're crushing on Ron Weasley?" She laughed, starting on an essay for Transfiguration. Josie's cheeks burned again. 

"I am not crushing on Ron. I don't even know him yet." She defended herself just as two tall, red haired twins hurried down the spiral staircase from the boys' dormitories. 

"Did we hear someone say crush and our little brother, Ickle Ronnikins, in the same sentence?" The first twin spoke, sitting down abruptly next to Josie. 

"Yes, Fred, I think we did hear that. Which one of you two is it, then?" The second twin sat next to his brother, both of them looking very interested. 

Hermione looked across the table over to Josie, giving her a look of agreement, she wouldn't say anything to them. 

"I don't think they heard us, Georgie," The first twin, Fred, said to his brother, George, "HELLO? WHO IS CRUSHING ON OUR BROTHER?" The two girls jumped at his screeching. Hermione slapped his head softly. 

"Leave her alone! She's not crushing on Ron, relax. I was only joking." Hermione said, making the twins laugh and turn to Josie. 

"Ah, so you're the one with the crush? What's your name?" Fred asked, sitting back in his chair, bringing his feet up to rest on the chair next to him, relaxing. 

"Josie." She stated, looking from twin to twin. They were smirking with the most devious glints in their eyes. 

"So lovely to meet you, Josie. We could totally put in a good word for you, you know. Ickle Ronnikins doesn't get much action, so I bet he would just love it if you'd-" 

"That's enough, Fred!" Hermione said, putting her quill down with a force, "Can't you see she's uncomfortable with you two down her throat? Why don't you try to get to know her before asking your stupid questions?" She finished. 

Josie was frozen, both in fear and amazement. She's never seen Hermione fly off the handle like that, it was nice to see her take charge. The twins sat silent for a few seconds before chuckling to themselves. 

"Alright, fine, we'll leave her alone. But we'll be back." George said, pulling his twin up by the shirt, the pair walking out of the common room. 

"Great, now they think I'm in love with their brother. Thanks Hermione." Josie said coldly, but let her know she was being sarcastic by laughing softly a second later. 

-

After working on their papers, the two girls went up to bed. They were both exhausted after their first day of lessons, so it wasn't long before both of them fell asleep. Gemini planted herself on the pillow beside Josie's head, purring peacefully as the room drifted further from Josie, who was now fast asleep.


	5. buckbeak

"'Mione, can you do me a favor and not mention my leaves to the boys?" Josie asked politely as they walked down to the Great Hall the next morning. She was carrying a small drawstring bag over her shoulder which contained the materials needed for the lessons she was taking today. 

"Fine, but if you feel like something might happen, I won't hesitate to mention it in front of them. Okay?" She answered in a hush tone as the girls walked up to the Gryffindor table where Harry and Ron were already sitting, eating their breakfast. As they sat, the twins came running after them (McGonagall yelling at them from the staff table, of course), sitting down on either side of Josie. 

"Morning, girls." Fred said to Josie's left, a great dumb smirk on his face. Josie didn't know much about the Weasley twins, but she did know they were pranksters. They would no doubt do something to embarrass her in front her friends, especially Ron, just to get a good laugh out of it. 

"What are we?" Ron asked with a scowl, "A couple of next door neighbors?" 

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Ickle Ronnikins." George chuckled, shooting his brother an odd look, one of mischief. "Harry, I need to speak to you." 

"What for?" Harry looked up from his toast, confused. George got up and crossed over the table, grabbing his robes and pulling him out of the Great Hall. Josie noticed his wink he shot to his twin brother, who was turning his attention to Hermione now.

"Hermione, I need you to help me with a new spell. Flitwick's got us practicing the Banishing Charm, I just can't seem to get it." Fred pleaded, but Josie could hear the smirk playing across his lips. Before she had time to refuse, Fred whisked her away and out of the Great Hall, too. 

Josie was left alone at the table with Ron. She avoided his eyes for quite a bit, glancing all around the room and then finding her breakfast particularly interesting until Ron cleared his throat.

"What did your leaves look like yesterday?" He asked, leaning into the table a bit more. Josie shot her head up to look at him, her heart skipping a beat for two reasons: one, he still had incredibly awful bedhead, which made him look even cuter. Two, she had to think of a lie that was believable on the spot. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. 

"Just a giant blob. Couldn't make anything out of it. Especially since I had to read my own." 

"You what?" He sounded confused, "I heard you were friends with Lavender and Parvati. You sat with them, didn't you? Didn't want to pry their big heads out of that stupid book, did they?" Josie felt herself laughing wholeheartedly at his comment, Ron's ears turning a bit pink at the noise, laughing along with her.

"'Suppose not, they think I'm in some grave danger. Said they didn't want anything to do with me." His laughter died down after what she said, his brows pulling together to form a frown. 

"Grave danger? What, like Harry?" 

"No. I'm not in danger. I don't have any enemies, I'm not special like Harry, I don't have You-Know-Who or his supporters after me. It's all rubbish, like 'Mione said." Josie said, Ron didn't look convinced. 

"It would suck to lose you," He paused, his pink ears turning beet red at how sweet his comment was, obviously not intending it to be, "I mean - since you've just become our friend. You know."

Josie bit back the biggest smile she's ever worn, Ron's accidentally-sweet comment making her swoon a bit. 

"No, I get it. Don't worry about me, they're probably wrong, anyway." Josie said as she glanced over to the farthest end of the Gryffindor table, spotting her ex-friends, her teeth grinding in anger, "Lavender's probably just jealous. She fancies you, you know." Her head turned back to look at Ron, who looked disgusted. 

"Lavender Brown? Like me?" He scoffed, shaking his head and glaring over to her, "Well now that she's shown her true colors to you, she can keep dreaming." 

Josie placed her chin in her palm, resting her elbow on the table as she looked over to the red haired boy. She was beaming inside that he didn't feel the same way about Lavender, she'd always go on and on about Ron during their first two years at Hogwarts. 

Just as they were getting comfortable with each other's company, the bell unfortunately rang, signaling to them that it was time to head to class. The two grabbed their bags and books, walking out of the Great Hall together. 

"She's not my type anyway," Ron started, glancing back at her then looking down to Josie, "She's quite vain, you know. Always wants to be center of attention. Can't stand that."

Josie giggled at his statement, because it was true. She would always talk about herself, Josie couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. As they walked out and down to Hagrid's Hut, where the whole Care of Magical Creatures class were waiting, Hagrid standing in front with a huge grin. Ron said one more thing about Lavender that made Josie laugh, but she stopped when they came to a halt, Hermione and Harry standing in front of them.

"Fred didn't need any help with the Banishing Charm, he brought me to an empty classroom and sent Peeves after me, he just barely missed me with his stupid water balloons!" Hermione exclaimed, obviously angry at Fred. 

"And George just wanted to tell me that he thinks I need more practice on my broom. What an absolute git, I'm perfectly fine on my broom!" Harry said, his arms folding over his chest angrily. Ron and Josie looked to each other, sharing a small smile because their friends' anger was a bit funny at the moment. 

"Oh, I see," Hermione started, "They knew exactly what they were doing. Those vile little-"

"Alrigh' class, gather round, I've got a bit of a nice surprise for ye'" Hagrid called out just before Hermione finished her sentence. The class moved closer to him as he walked into an open patch of grass, right at the entrance of the Forbidden Forrest. There, standing tied to a wooden post, was a giant hybrid animal. 

"Hagrid, what the bloody hell is that?" Ron asked, a hint of fear in his voice. 

"This, class," He started, turning to the animal with a proud smile, "Is Buckbeak!" The class was filled with silent confusion. 

"What's a Buckbeak?" A short, round-faced boy asked, earning laughs from the Slytherins that had been quiet until now. 

"His name is Buckbeak, Neville. He's a hippogriff." Hagrid insisted, walking up next to the animal, Buckbeak, and stroking his neck. He was a very odd looking creature. With a head, front legs, and wings of a giant eagle, his body, hind legs, and tail were that of a horse. Josie thought he looked quite cute, she had a soft spot for magical creatures. She glanced up to his piercing orange eyes, the thought of him being cute vanished as he screeched. 

"Alrigh', everyone opens up yer books and-" 

"How?" A shrill voice asked from the back of the group. Everyone turned their heads to look back to Draco Malfoy and his nasty friends, who were laughing beside him. 

"Eh?" Hagrid said. 

"How do we open our books?" He repeated, grabbing his furry copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which was bound shut with a length of rope. Hagrid looked around at the class, disappointed that no one seemed to know how to open the book. After explaining that you have to stroke it, Malfoy snickered again. 

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" He sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!" 

"I-I thought they were funny." Hagrid mumbled to Hermione. 

"Oh, tremendously funny! Really witty, giving us books that try to rip our hands off!" Malfoy hissed. Hagrid shook his head with uncertainty, turning and going back to Buckbeak.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry said out of nowhere, causing heads to turn towards him as he took a step forward, Draco seemingly wanting more, so he went on: 

"God this place is going to the dogs, wait till my father hears about this oaf teaching classes." He smirked as Harry took another step forward, his fists clenching visibly out of his robe sleeves. 

"Shut up, Malfoy." He repeated, stiff with anger as Malfoy laughed at him, pausing with a mockingly scared face.

"Careful, Potter! There's a dementor behind you!" His friends boomed with laughter beside him, but Josie just couldn't take it anymore. She was absolutely sick of Draco's shit, and hitting him below the belt with the dementor comment was a step too far for her new friend.

"He said SHUT UP, Malfoy!" She spat, clenching her own fists. Harry whirled around to look back at her in shock, he's never heard her sound like that before. The laughter from the Slytherins stopped for a moment, but they roared even louder after Draco's next comment: 

"Oh, look, Potter! You've got yourself a girlfriend and a bodyguard all wrapped into one." He smirked, standing up and taking a step towards Josie, who didn't move a muscle, standing her ground. 

"And who are you? A mudblood, no doubt. Not much to pay mind to." He glared down at her. 

"Josie. Josie Avery. And no, I'm not. Like it even matters." She folded her arms over her chest, "Leave Harry alone."

"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked, his grey eyes sending daggers into her. Josie was about to answer when she realized she didn't have one. She didn't know what she would do, she wasn't used to standing up to people like Draco. Before she could spit something out, Ron took a step towards him. 

"Piss off, Malfoy." He demanded, using his height as a form of intimidation since he was a bit taller than Draco. Draco did take a step back, but not before saying something else. 

"Ah, looks like you've yourself two boyfriends, Avery. Want it all, do you?" He smirked but it was short lived because Ron grabbed him by his robes, pushing him back against the tree the Slytherins were crowding around. 

"Leave her alone, Malfoy, or I swear to God-" 

"Ronald! Let him go! It's not worth a detention!" Hermione interrupted Ron before he could continue. He grunted angrily before tossing him to the ground, leaving Malfoy a squirming mess as he got to his feet, completely embarrassed that he was just overpowered by Ron. He quickly made his way across the field, the Slytherins following him, leaving the Gryffindors to stand quiet. Everyone was shocked, they've never seen Ron act that way towards Draco. Everyone was silent, their eyes all landing on Josie. 

"Ronald, what's gotten into you?" Hermione demanded with a huff. "I would expect that out of Harry but you? You've never done anything like that. You know he just wants to get under your skin!" 

He stood silent for a while, his eyes lifting from the ground to look into Josie's, who was standing a few feet away still. His cheeks were flustered from the adrenaline, his lips parted like he was going to say something but he didn't. He didn't answer her until a minute later. 

"I don't know. I couldn't let him say shit like that. Sorry, 'Mione." He said simply, walking past the group back to the class quietly. Josie was dumbfounded, she didn't know if she caused that reaction or Draco. On one hand, the thought of him getting upset because Draco was talking to her like that was seriously sweet. But she didn't want to cause Ron any trouble, she was conflicted. 

\- 

After the talk had died down of the incident that just happened, class went back to normal. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Josie stood at the front of the class but didn't talk to each other. The tension was thick as Hagrid explained everything about hippogriffs. 

"The trick is ter earn a hippogriffs' trust," Hagrid started, looking out to the class, "Now, anyone wanna take a closer look?" No one moved or said anything, they were all intimidated by the great beast. 

"I'll do it." Harry said out of nowhere, earning a gasp from Josie's former best friend. 

"Harry, no! Your leaves!" Lavender whimpered, earning a groan from the rest of the Gryffindors. He ignored her and approached Hagrid. He instructed him to bow and wait for Buckbeak to bow back. As he bowed in front of the creature, he seemed to take a step too close, causing Buckbeak to screech angrily. 

Josie gasped in fear, instinctively grasping the nearest thing: which happened to be Ron's hand. Her eyes widened, her cheeks burned. She quickly let go, glancing up to him to make sure he didn't get upset. But to her surprise, he didn't. He actually smiled before turning his head so Josie couldn't see. 

After Buckbeak cooled down, Harry ended up earning his trust enough to pet him and ride him. The whole class, except for the Slytherins, cheered him on as they flew off into the sky, coming back and landing a few minutes later. Harry was beaming, enjoying the praise that his classmates were giving him for doing this extraordinary task. Of course, one particular Slytherin couldn't stand them being happy for too long. 

"Well, you're not dangerous at all are you, you great, ugly brute?" He smirked as he walked up to Buckbeak, who immediately freaked out, raising himself onto his hind legs and scratching Malfoy's arm that came to shield his face. He fell down to the ground, crying out in exaggerated pain. 

Pansy Parkinson was screeching as loud as a barn owl at Draco's pain, hurrying after Hagrid as he scooped him up and ran towards the castle. The class slowly dispersed, breaking off into groups as they followed up to the castle. 

"Serves him right, acting like a git." Josie spat out, angry at Draco for being so stupid and getting himself hurt, knowing he will blame Hagrid for it. 

"He's pathetic," Ron started next to her, "He's gonna milk it, I reckon." The three seemed to agree as they traveled into the common room, settling down after telling students in different years about their eventful class.

A few hours passed, filled with homework and chat, until Harry went over to the window, glancing out of it.

"There's a light on in Hagrid's window," He looked towards Hermione, Ron, and Josie, "Let's go see him." He suggested, earning a scoff from Hermione. 

"You know you're not supposed to be wandering around, Harry." She reminded him. "Remember? Sirius Black?" 

"Oh, come on, let's go." He pushed himself off the sill, walking out with Ron following him quickly. The girls shrugged and followed after, Josie couldn't help but smile at her being included. 

\- 

The group stood at Hagrid's door as Harry knocked, barking and a soft "Cmin" followed. Harry opened the door, stepping in and greeting a large, grey dog. Ron and Hermione followed suit then sat with Hagrid, but Josie was focused on the pup. She absolutely loved dogs, and she'd never met Fang before. She instantly got on her knees, smiling wide as she pet the slobbery dog. 

He seemed to like her, too, since he barked a little before licking her cheek. He left a trail of slobber, but she didn't care. He was too cute to be mad. She finally stood up and realized the sight before her: Hagrid, sitting on a stool behind a huge table, sipping from a giant goblet, which was definitely filled with alcohol. 

"'Spect it's a record," he said thickly, looking at the group, "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before." 

"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!" gasped Hermione. 

"Not yet," said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of his drink. "But 's only a matter 'o time, i'n't it, after Malfoy.." 

"How is he?" Josie spoke up, sitting next to Hermione on a chair that was much too big for her. 

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could," said Hagrid dully, "but he's sayin' it's still agony... covered in bandages... moaning'..."

"He's definitely faking it." Josie replied, crossing her arms angrily. 

"Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all its worth." Harry said, causing Josie to remember that one Quidditch game where Harry broke his arm and that stupid Defense Against the Dark Arts professor tried to fix it, causing all of his bones to completely disappear. She didn't know him then, but it was the talk of the school for about a week. 

"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course," said Hagrid miserably. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs fer later... done flobberworms or summat... Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson....'S all my fault..." 

"It's all Malfoy's fault!" Hermione replied earnestly. 

"We're witnesses," said Harry. "You said hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened." 

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up." Josie agreed. Tears started to spill from Hagrid's eyes as he grabbed Harry and Ron, who were closest to him, and pulled them into a bone-crushing hug. Hermione slyly took his goblet away, hurrying outside to drain it on to the ground when Hagrid got up, following her unsteadily. Hermione returned a second later. 

"What's he done?" 

"Stuck his head in the water barrel." She replied as he walked back in, his long hair and beard sopping wet. 

"Tha's better," he said. "Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really -" he stopped dead in his tracks as he looked to Harry, just now realizing he was there. 

"WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?" Hagrid roared, causing the group to jump to their feet, "YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN'. AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU THREE! LETTIN' HIM!" Hagrid strode over to Harry, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out. 

"C'mon, I'm taking yeh all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth that!" 

\- 

The girls broke off from the boys when they reached the common room, going up to the girls' dormitories. The candles were already blown out since the other girls were already asleep, so they changed quickly and got into bed. Josie couldn't help but relive the events of class as she closed her eyes. She smiled to herself as she reimagined Ron shoving Malfoy into the tree, hearing his voice ringing in her ears, sounding so angry and protective. She kept her smile until she fell asleep, hoping he might feel the same about her.


	6. a familiar face

It wasn't until late Thursday morning that Draco returned to their double Potions class they had with Professor Snape. Pansy whined obnoxiously as she asked Draco all about his injury and how he was feeling. He lied, of course, saying he was still in pain. Josie just rolled her eyes as Snape instructed the class to settle down. 

They were making a new potion today; a Shrinking Solution. After grabbing the necessary ingredients, the students all sat down. Malfoy made it a point to sit right next to Harry, with Josie on his other side. 

"Sir," Malfoy said, raising his hand, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm-" 

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Snape interrupted, Ron sighed angrily, going red in the face. 

"There's nothing wrong with you arm," He hissed to Malfoy, who smirked across the table. 

"Weasley, you heard Professor Snape. Cut up these roots." He slid the roots towards Ron, who seized the knife and proceeded to chop the roots in different sizes, making them nearly useless. Josie frowned, knowing exactly what would come next.

"Sir, Weasley's mutilated my roots!" Malfoy whined. Snape approached the table, stared down at the roots, then gave Ron an evil smile. 

"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley." He ordered.

"But, sir- !" 

"Now," said Snape in his most dangerous voice. 

Ron shoved his perfectly cut up daisy roots across the table to Malfoy, who smirked proudly for no doubt ruining Ron's potion. Josie glanced across the table at the pathetic shreds, noticing how angry Ron was. Once Snape had left, she pushed her equally perfect daisy roots over to Ron, who looked up at her, confused.

"Take them." 

"What?" Ron started, "but Josie, you spent about twenty minutes cutting those up. I can't-" 

"Take them, Ron. It's alright. Snape's an ass." She insisted with a smile, grabbing his mutilated roots and pulling them towards her. Ron didn't respond, he seemed too flustered to. He just simply smiled at her as the class continued on their solutions. After they had finished, Snape of course picked out poor Neville, testing his solution that was obviously not looking good, and testing it on his toad, Trevor. To the class' surprise, Trevor shrunk perfectly then returned to normal size. Hermione smiled proudly next to Josie, having helped Neville. Unfortunately, this led to Snape taking five points from Gryffindor because he ordered her not to intervene. The boys were pretty annoyed about this as they left the dungeons. 

"Why didn't you just lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it all on his own!" Ron whined. Hermione didn't answer, and the three remaining friends turned to look at her, but she wasn't there. 

"Where did she -?" Ron asked, looking around, "She was just right here!" But just as the three looked at each other in confusion, Hermione sped up to them, panting heavily, and tucking something down the front of her robes.

"How did you do that?" Josie asked what they were all thinking, looking at her skeptically. 

"Do what?"

"Don't be smart, one minute you were walking with us, the next you're running up to us like you weren't with us before." Josie replied. 

"What? Oh - I had to - I had to go back for something." She answered, leaving the other three completely unsatisfied with her response. 

\- 

As the class piled into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, they all noticed Professor Lupin wasn't in there. Josie sat down next to Ron and Hermione, Harry next to Ron on the other side. She pulled out her quill, ink, book, and parchment, ready for class. It was a few minutes until Lupin finally entered, looking as shabby as ever but he looked healthier than he had on the train. 

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all of your books back into your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands." The class exchanged curious yet excited looks as they did as they were told.

"Right, now if you all will follow me." Everyone got to their feet and followed him closely into a spare classroom with only a giant, old wardrobe. The class collectively gasped as it suddenly wobbled furiously. 

"Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin said calmly, "There's a boggart in there. They like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks - I once met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" 

Hermione put her hand up, of course, but he seemed to ignore her to look at Josie, who was standing behind her. Lupin squinted at her, almost like he was examining her face. Like he'd seen her before. He must have just remembered her from the train.

"You," he said, nodding towards Josie, "what's your name?" 

"Josie Avery, sir." She answered, her cheeks burning now that everyone was looking towards her. 

"Miss Avery, would you care to explain what a boggart is?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his robe pockets. Josie relaxed a bit, thanking Merlin that she listened to Hermione ramble on and on about what they might be learning this year. 

"It's a shapeshifter," she mumbled, "it takes the shape of whatever you fear the most." 

"Couldn't have put it better myself, Miss Avery," He said, turning back towards the wardrobe, "So, the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when it is left alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever frightens each of us the most. This means we have an advantage over it, yeah? Harry, what's the advantage?" Lupin finished, the whole class turning to Harry. 

"Er - there's so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?" He answered.

"Precisely," he smiled, "Now the spell we will use to repel the boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. The thing that will defeat a boggart the most is laughter. This means we have to force it to assume a shape that is humorous." The class was hooked on every word he spoke. 

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" The class repeated together. 

"Good, good. Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." Everyone's heads whirled to the boy standing in the back of the class, cowering in fear. He was eventually coaxed out and to the front by Lupin, who explained to him what he needed to do. 

"Now, Neville, tell me what you fear the most." Lupin inquired.

"P-P-Professor Snape.." Neville mumbled, earning laughs from all over the class. 

"Professor Snape...hmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" 

"Er - yes," Neville nodded, "But I don't want that thing to turn into her either!"

"No, no, you misunderstand me," Lupin smiled, "When the boggart comes out of the wardrobe, I want you to point your wand at it and say the incantation, while simultaneously thinking of your grandmother's clothing. Do you understand?" Neville nodded with a whimper. The class shuffled closer to the wardrobe as Neville nervously held his wand up, ready to go as soon as Lupin opened the doors.

Josie's eyes widened at the sight of Professor Snape stepping out and into the classroom, with his usually evil smirk, staring Neville down, who trembled greatly before finally speaking up.

"R-R-Riddikulus!" Instantly, Snape's usual black robes turned into a long, emerald green dress, a fox-fur scarf appearing around his neck, and a tall hat with a stuffed vulture on top. The class roared with laughter at the sight of their professor in such an outfit, Josie's insides ached from laughing so hard. Lupin praised Neville, then one by one students lined up in front of the boggart, Josie right behind Harry, it changing the shape to match whatever the person in front of it feared the most. The class continued laughing until it was Harry's turn.

Josie could see Harry's smile fade as the boggart changed into a dementor, the class going silent as Lupin jumped in front of him, shouting the incantation. The boggart changed quickly into a small, white orb before hurrying back into the wardrobe, it almost looked like a crystal ball. Everyone was shocked, Neville was trembling again at the sight of the dementor. 

"Alright, that's enough for today, yeah? If you would kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me.. to be handed in on Monday. Miss Avery, will you stay back for a moment?" Josie stopped in her tracks as she was following her friends to leave. She turned slowly back to Lupin as the rest of the students hurried out, leaving just the two of them alone.

"What do you need, sir?" Josie spoke up, tightening her grip on her bag. She's never been asked to stay after class from anyone, not even Snape. She was wondering if she might be in trouble.

"I just wanted to ask you something, just curious. Does your mother happen to be Lenora Avery?" he asked, smiling fondly as he leaned on the wardrobe. 

"Yes, that's her," she answered, "why?"

"I went to school with your mother, Josie. Very bright, she was," he avoided her eyes, still smiling, "How is she?" 

"She's fine." Josie said awkwardly, noticing his expression that seemed a little sad now.

"Great," he nodded, "I'll have to send her an owl soon. You did amazing today, by the way."

"I didn't even get to face the boggart. I was right behind Harry." Josie shrugged.

"Yes, but you answered my question correctly when I put you on the spot." Lupin nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets again. Josie smiled, she had a rough experience with the two previous DADA professors, so getting some praise from this year's teacher made her feel good.

"Have you been friends with Harry long?" Lupin asked out of nowhere. Josie shook her head.

"No, just this year. I.. lost some friends. And Hermione welcomed me into their group. They're all very nice." she assured him, nodding quickly. 

"Good, good... They are a good group. Just make sure to stay out of trouble, Miss Avery. Especially now with the conditions of the Wizarding World. Sirius Black is no joke." he sounded almost like he was threatening her, but she shook it off.

"Of course, Professor. I'm not the one that should be scared, though. Harry's had a bad run... But now that we're friends, I'll keep a good watch on him. Don't worry." she smiled, earning a nod from Lupin.

"Good. Now go on, don't want to be late for your other classes." he insisted. Josie hurried out of there after they said their goodbyes, she went back up to the common room to find her friends. 

-

"He asked you about your mother?" Ron inquired while trying to write an overdue essay for Snape. Harry, Josie, and Hermione sat with him at a table in the corner, all working on their homework.

"He said they knew each other back when they were here as students. Said he was going to send her an owl. He looked really happy but then he looked sad, it was odd." she answered, working on the boggart summary.

"Maybe they had a thing for each other." Hermione chimed in with a quiet laugh. 

"Yeah, what if he's your dad, Josie?" Harry laughed along with her. She had just recently told the boys about her past, how she didn't grow up with her father and didn't even know who he was. She didn't mind joking about it, since she had an amazing mother and family who supported her. She didn't need a father. Josie laughed along with them.

"I doubt it, I don't look like him much, do I?" she laughed.

"No, but it's definitely possible." Ron shrugged.

"No, it's not," she insisted, "he said they knew each other in school. My mum had me when she was, like, twenty or something. It doesn't add up. Plus, she told me that she met my father on a holiday in Italy." she shrugged, continuing to work.

"She hasn't even told you his name?" Hermione asked.

"No. I know nothing about him. I've asked her about him, of course, but she insists that I don't need to know about him, that all I'm allowed to know is he isn't a good person and it shows through him not ever wanting to be seen by me." Josie frowned, the memories of her asking her mother about him when she was little flooding back. She would always tell him the only thing that Josie needed to know is he was a bad man that she met in Italy. Her mother would always insist she never got anything from him, especially not the evil that apparently resided in him.

"That's rough, Josie," Ron added, "I can't imagine not knowing who my parents were. I'd go mad." Josie glanced to Harry, who got quiet after this was said. She knew that she was lucky to have her mother, especially since Harry had neither of his parents. But she had to admit that she was curious.

"It's fine, Ron, I'm fine," she smiled to him, "I've learned to live with it." He nodded, dropping the subject. After this conversation, the group went quiet, finishing up their homework. Josie couldn't concentrate much, however, she kept glancing up sneakily to look over at Ron, who was huffing to himself at how difficult his essay was to write. 

She placed her chin in her palm, watching him for a while until she felt an elbow jab her in the ribs. She whined, turning to find Hermione with a grin. 

"You're drooling, Josie." she whispered to Josie. Josie's cheeks burned in embarrassment, having being caught staring. She rolled up her finished summary and stood up.

"I'm finished, so," she started, the group looking up at her, "I'll see you lot tomorrow, yeah? Goodnight, boys." she finished, hurrying up the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitories, a giant grin on her face. She pushed the door open to her room, finding Lavender and Parvati on their beds, gossiping. They paused, glaring up to her. Josie ignored them, heading to her dresser and pulling her tie off until Lavender spoke up.

"Looks like you've gotten close to Harry Potter. See, we told you you'd be in danger. Hanging around him? You're lucky to be alive by the first Quidditch match." she spat, earning a quiet giggle from Parvati. Josie's fists clenched as she turned towards the girls.

"At least I'm not the ones who are hiding in corners and whispering to each other, looking at your stupid book filled with nonsense. Can't seem to pry your fat heads out of it, can you?" she smirked, folding her arms. Lavender went red, slamming the book shut.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm safe! So is Parvati. We're not in danger." she answered, getting off the bed. 

"I'd rather be in danger and get to hang out with Ron Weasley everyday, remember him? Your crush? Yeah, we hang out all day, everyday. How's that feel?" she exaggerated her words in an obnoxious tone to piss Lavender off. She succeeded, Lavender was definitely mad now. 

"You know how much I fancy him!" she cried out in anger. Josie enjoyed how easy it was to get under her skin.

"Too bad he seems to be fancying someone else, then, hm?" she answered. Just as Lavender was about to pounce, the door opened to reveal Hermione, holding her books and looking shocked at the sight before her. 

"What is going on in here? I can hear you from the common room!" she slammed her books down on her trunk, sitting on her bed. 

"We were just leaving." Lavender spat, grabbing her book and Parvati's hand, pulling her out the door. Josie huffed angrily as they left, sitting on her own bed. 

"Can you tell me what happened now?" Hermione inquired, pulling her shoes off. 

"She was spitting out rubbish. Said I was in danger for hanging around Harry. So I told her exactly how stupid they look when they're stuffing their faces in that book" she shrugged, turning from Hermione as she tugged her own shoes off, "And I might have bragged to her that I get to hang out with her crush." Josie laughed quietly.

"You did what?" Hermione answered with a laugh, "Bet that's what made her blow up." Josie nodded, finally changing into her pajamas. 

"Yep," she put her wand on the bedside table, getting into bed, "it was hilarious."

"You act like you aren't also crushing on him, Josie," Hermione reminded, getting into bed herself, "I mean, honestly, you were gawking over him down there. Did you even finish your summary? Or did you just write "Mrs. Josie Weasley" over and over?" Hermione asked, laughing even harder. Josie's cheeks burned again, turning towards her friend's bed. 

"I finished, thank you very much! And I was not gawking. I was simply looking, admiring if you will." The girls giggled, staying up for only a few more minutes until they both fell asleep.


	7. hogsmeade

When October had rolled around, the Gryffindor common room was filled with chatter about the upcoming Quidditch match. October had also meant the first trip to Hogsmeade, which Josie couldn't wait for. Harry was gone, along with the twins and the rest of the Gryffindor team, leaving Ron, Hermione, and Josie alone in the common room.

"Josie, can you help me with this stupid star chart?" Ron asked, showing her the unmarked chart. Josie laughed softly, taking it from him and showing him what he was missing. He leaned closer to her, moving his floppy red hair out of his eyes. Josie smiled to herself, handing him his chart back once he understood. Hermione sent Josie a knowing smirk before Ron yelped.

"OY!" he roared, grabbing his bag as Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, sank his claws into it, "GET OFF YOU STUPID ANIMAL!" 

Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but he clung onto the bag, spitting and slashing.

"Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione squealed. Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers, who was inside of the bag, came flying out of the top.

"CATCH THAT CAT!" Ron yelled as Crookshanks went after the poor rat. Josie jumped up and quickly made her way towards the door where Crookshanks was headed, scooping him up, the situation ending a bit too easily. Hermione sighed in relief, grabbing her pet.

"Thanks, Josie," she smiled, turning to glare at Ron, who had dived into the floor to retrieve his rat before he buried himself under the rug. He huffed angrily, glaring back at Hermione as he held his own pet close. 

"Look at him! That cat's evil, he is!" he said furiously to Hermione, "Scabbers is skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"

"He doesn't understand it's wrong, Ron," Josie said calmly, trying to defuse the situation. But Ron wasn't having it.

"There's something funny about that animal! It's after Scabbers, the poor thing didn't even provoke him!" Ron yelled, burying Scabbers in his pocket for safety. 

"Oh, that's rubbish," Hermione said impatiently, "Crookshanks could smell a rat, so he went after him!"

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" said Ron angrily, "And Scabbers was here first! And he's ill!" Ron defended his rat. He was right, Scabbers was here first and he did look ill. Crookshanks was new to the group, Hermione had got him just this year. He didn't know Scabbers yet, or Gemini. 

"Ron, calm down, please?" Josie said, standing in the middle of the feuding pair. Ron's eyes stayed on Crookshanks, who was squirming in Hermione's arms. He seemed to relax his tense shoulders, though, nodding to Josie. 

"Fine. I'm going to bring him upstairs, hopefully he won't have PTSD." he spat, glaring at Hermione before hurrying up to his dormitory. Hermione frowned angrily as she sat back down on the couch, petting a now peaceful Crookshanks.

\- 

After their next Transfiguration lesson had ended, Ron was pushing Harry into asking Professor McGonagall to sign his Hogsmeade permission slip. Josie felt terrible for Harry, his uncle and aunt seemed to refuse him for some reason. She didn't know much about the Dursleys', but they seemed like horrible people. 

"Go on, ask her-" 

"Fine! I'm going!" Harry interrupted Ron, shooting him a glare. Hermione and Josie stayed near the door as Harry nervously went up to McGonagall, who's beady eyes looked at him disappointedly. Josie could tell by her expression he wasn't going to get a slip. Harry walked back a few minutes later after pleading with her, he was sulking as the group walked to the Great Hall for lunch.

"She's refused," Harry whined, "said she can't sign my slip, and she thinks I should be staying out of Hogsmeade anyway! What an old bat!" 

"Harry, she's got a point," Hermione started, "it's not safe for you out there." 

"Yeah, but it's our first Hogsmeade trip! He should be allowed to go." Josie defended Harry, who smiled to her, "I mean, she's the Deputy Headmistress, she should be able to sign it. It's just unfair." 

"Exactly! 'Mione, why can't you sound more like Josie?" Ron smirked playfully at her, earning an angry glare from Hermione, "Oh, c'mon, I'm kidding."

-

"Are you sure, Hermione? You really deserve a break! Come on, come with us!" Josie pleaded to her friend who was knee-high in homework and essays. 

"I'm sorry, I've just got too much work! I'll go with you two on the next trip, I promise." Hermione shook her head to Josie and Ron, who were about to leave for Hogsmeade. 

"You'll at least keep Harry company, won't you?" Josie asked, slipping on a maroon beanie, fixing her loose curls to lay neatly on her shoulders.

"Of course, but I think he's actually gone down to Lupin's office. Told me he wants to learn more about dementors." Hermione shrugged just as the portrait door swung open.

"Oi! C'mon, you two! The groups' leaving!" Fred Weasley called out. Josie quickly said goodbye to her friend, Ron ignored her (he was still very upset about her cat's attack), and the pair followed the twins down to the large group in the entrance hall. Josie held onto her permission slip tightly, standing next to Ron and the twins. She hadn't realized it before now that Harry not being able to go and Hermione staying back meant the two of them would be alone.

Fred moved to Josie's left, George moved to Ron's right, squishing them together as they wrapped their arms around their neighbor's shoulder.

"So, where are you two planning on going?" George asked with a goofy smile.

"Probably somewhere quiet, yeah?" Fred asked, wiggling his brows down to Josie, who couldn't help but laugh at his bluntness. Ron, however was not interested in their games today.

"No! We'll be somewhere with a ton of people. Like- Like Honeydukes!" Ron spat out nervously as they all handed in their slips to Filch, the nasty caretaker. Josie's smile faded, but she tried her best to hide it. He obviously sounded everything but excited to be alone with her. George pulled him closer to his side, whispering something in his ear that made Ron's cheeks turn pink. The twins then hurried over to their friend, Lee, leaving with a wink towards Josie.

"What was that all about?" she asked, looking ahead, avoiding Ron's eyes.

"They're a bunch of pricks, that's all." he shrugged, seemingly avoiding her eyes as well. Josie just nodded as she walked with him, following the group until they reached a small, quaint village that was filled with people. It was like Diagon Alley, but a lot less busy. Students ran apart from the group, going to shops, pubs, anywhere they could, ready to get out their pent up energy. 

October brought a cold breeze with it as it came, and Hogsmeade seemed to be even chillier than the Hogwarts grounds. Josie shivered as a gust of wind swept past her and Ron, pulling her jacket closed by the zipper. She glanced to Ron, who's nose was beet red from the cold already. She followed him up to a large wooden post which held the layout of the village, with a big "YOU ARE HERE" sign displayed at the entrance. 

"'Right, well, we could go over to Honeydukes. Or maybe Zonko's? That little joke shop 'round the corner?" he suggested, pointing to the areas on the map. A certain pink spot caught Josie's eyes.

"What's that one?" she asked, looking up to Ron. His cheeks burned brightly again, a small smile displaying across his face.

"That's Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. It's absolutely outrageous, the whole place is pink and covered in bows, George told me. Fred said it was a good place for couples to go." he finished, clearing his throat. Josie laughed softly.

"Okay, so not that one, then." 

"Yeah, no." he shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

"Shall we go to Honeydukes then?" she asked as she turned, walking ahead of him, "I've been dying to get another chocolate frog." Ron stumbled on his feet as he hurried after her, agreeing. She smiled to herself, feeling a bit more comfortable with him already. She thanked Hermione in her head for staying back. 

The pair walked into the heart of the village over to the sweets shop, where most of the students had inhabited. Josie reached forward to open the big, blue door but Ron hurried in front of her, opening it quickly. He stood to the side, gesturing her to go in. She smiled and thanked him, walking in and taking in the sight before her.

The walls were lined with shelves that were filled with all different types of sweets. Chocolate frogs, sugar quills, acid pops, fudge flies, treacle fudge, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and so much more. It was a child's dream. Ron walked in behind her, having the same amazed reaction.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, "I love this place." 

Students were scattered all around the shop, laughing and talking, enjoying their time. Josie migrated over to the shelf containing chocolate frogs, wands, skeletons,and more. She grabbed a frog box, turning her head to show Ron, but found him frowning at his empty pockets. Her heart sank, she knew he came from a family with little to no money, but she thought maybe he would be able to afford some sweets. Grabbing another frog box, she walked over to him, handing one it to him.

"Thanks, but I don't have enough." he shook his head, refusing the box. Josie frowned and shoved the box back into his arms.

"I know," she said, "I'm buying it." His eyes widened a little, shaking his head again.

"No, Josie. Don't spend your allowance on me. You already gave me your daisy roots, I can't keep taking handouts from you." he said, putting the box back in Josie's arms. 

"But I want to spend my allowance on you," she blurted out, not realizing how odd that sounded until after she said it, "I mean - I just want my friend to have a sweet. Is that too much to ask?" she asked defiantly, tilting her head with an attitude. 

"Josie-" 

"Take it or I'll be upset." she insisted, putting the box back in his arms. He sighed, looking down at her and trying his best to hide a smile.

"Fine, but that's it. No more handouts from you." he warned. Josie nodded, smiling to herself as she continued to shop. She picked up a few more sweets, and she even got some for Hermione and Harry. Of course, she wasn't counting on eating all the sweets she bought herself, she planned on giving more to Ron because she knew how much he loved them.

\- 

After chatting with some acquaintances here and there and buying the sweets, the two of them walked back out into the cold, crisp air of the village. Josie shivered again, frowning at how thin her jacket seemed to be. 

"Should we go for some butterbeer? That'll warm you up." Ron suggested, taking the bag from Josie's hands. She smiled, nodding in agreement. They walked past the rest of the shops until they reached a small, wooden lodge with a sign displaying "The Three Broomsticks". Josie once again reached for the door, but Ron insisted on opening the door for her again. 

They walked in, breathing in the warm scent of the hearth that had a roaring fire. It was absolutely crowded, there were students in one corner, and Hogsmeade residents spaced out through the entire pub. Josie followed Ron to a small, empty table, sitting down next to him as a waitress came up to them.

"What'll it be, dears?" 

"Two butter beers, please. Thank you." Josie spoke before Ron could, knowing very well he would have ordered just one for Josie to drink herself. The waitress hurried away back to the bar, leaving them alone again. Josie looked over to her friend, who was still red in the face from the cold.

"So," she started, "have you been to Hogsmeade before? With your family?" Ron nodded.

"Yeah, just a few times when I was young. Don't remember much of it, though." he shrugged, smiling at the waitress when she brought their drinks over to them. Josie sipped it slowly, shivering again as the butterscotch flavored beverage warmed her up. It was delicious.

"I've never been here," she said, wiping her lips with a napkin, "My mum doesn't come here much, either. I mean, I grew up in the Wizarding World, so you'd think I would have taken a trip or two here before. But no, she likes to keep to our house and Diagon Alley, if she has to go anywhere." 

"Is she one of those people who's afraid of going outside or something?" Ron chuckled, sipping his drink.

"No, she just prefers to spend her time alone or with me. She does have a few friends, though. She's close with Madam Malkin, actually. And obviously she's got some friends from school.." Josie finished, hinting to the Lupin situation. 

"You should ask her about Lupin. Maybe, if they were close, you could get some brownie points and get a better grade than Hermione." he snickered, making Josie laugh along with him.

"I don't need it, but you might," she giggled, "I mean, you just barely made that giant spider's legs disappear. You were terrified!" she laughed again, Ron furrowing his brows in a playful way.

"Hey, I did it, didn't I? That's all I had to do!" he defended, continuing to laugh with her. The pair kept talking about different students' boggarts, laughing still until their sides ached. Josie finished her drink right after Ron had, the two of them going quiet again.

"Thank you, again, Josie," he said out of nowhere in a serious tone, "for the frog. And the butterbeer. You're really generous." Josie nodded, her heart skipping a beat at his serious tone.

"Of course, you're my friend, Ron," she said, her eyes flickering up to his across the table. His eyes seemed to do the same thing.

"I'm really glad about that-" he paused, "not that you having a falling out with your friends is good or something to be happy about but -" 

"I get it, don't worry. They were never my real friends, I'd rather hang out with you, Hermione, and Harry." Josie interrupted, causing Ron to sigh in relief that she didn't take what he said wrong. They smiled to each other, but just as the busy noise from the crowded pub seemed to disappear, the bells on the door jingled, bringing Josie back to Earth.

Draco Malfoy. Of course he had to show up right when they were starting to get close. He walked in with a spoiled frown, his friends Crabbe and Goyle trudging behind him. He looked all around the room and smirked once he saw Josie and Ron. She sighed, knowing that whatever would happen next couldn't be good.

"Ah, well look who it is," he boasted, walking up to them, "Weasley and his little girlfriend." 

"Piss off, Malfoy." Ron spat, clutching the handle of his empty tankard.

"Are we interrupting your first date, Avery? How exciting, bet a girl like you doesn't get asked out much." Draco spat, making Josie's cheeks turn red in embarrassment, because it was partly true. He seemed to hit a nerve, making her unable to fight back. 

"Got nothing to say? Hm," he looked to his friends, "looks like we've finally found her weakness." 

Ron stood up immediately, the chair behind him screeching so loudly it made Josie jump. 

"Leave her alone, Malfoy," he demanded, "she hasn't done shit to you." Crabbe and Goyle tensed up, cracking their knuckles, ready to go at Malfoy's command. 

"Calm down, Weasley, I'm only poking fun at her." he smirked down to Josie, who still couldn't muster up the words to defend herself. 

"Exactly, and that's what isn't going to happen anymore." Ron hissed, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white. The three Slytherins laughed in his face.

"And what are you going to do about it, Weasley? Tell your father? He hasn't got much of a say in the matter, unlike my father. The Ministry's been dying to find a reason to sack your dad, so go ahead, throw me a punch. It'll just cost your dad his job, and I don't think your family can afford that, can they?"

Josie stood up finally, having had enough. Draco was not only making fun of her and Ron, now he was poking fun at Ron's family. Even though she's only met a few of the Weasley's, she knew they were well respected and liked despite their financial situation. Malfoy stood his ground as Josie stood, tilting his head back and puffing his shoulders up to seem tough. That didn't matter to Josie, though. 

She pulled her arm back and flung it forward, throwing a perfect punch right to Malfoy's nose. The crowded pub had gone silent as she waved her hand, the adrenaline not helping much with the pain. Draco fell back into his giant friends, causing all three of them to fall down on the nearest people, making a huge scene of it. Ron laughed triumphantly, scrambling to grab the bag of sweets and hurrying to Josie.

"C'mon, there's professors in here!" he warned, taking her good hand and pulling her out of the pub immediately, the two running quickly back into the village and down the path to the castle. The pair didn't stop running until they knew they were alone, then they paused to catch their breaths. It was quiet for a moment as they realized they were still holding hands. Ron blushed, quickly dropping Josie's hand as he spoke.

"That-" Ron started, taking a deep breath, "was bloody brilliant." 

Josie laughed as she caught her breath, her hand still aching as it turned red. Once they caught their breaths finally, they started to walk towards the castle again. 

"Where did you learn to punch like that?" Ron asked, clutching the bag tightly as they entered the castle. Josie shrugged. 

"I don't know, I didn't know I could do that, either." she insisted as they walked past Peeves the Poltergeist, who was throwing pebbles at first year Ravenclaw students. They made their way up to Gryffindor tower, excited to tell their friends about what happened when they saw a huge crowd surrounding the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione and Harry stood at the back, so the pair made their way to them.

"What's going on?" Josie asked loudly over the bustling crowd.

"Let me through please!" An older boy's voice called as he made his way towards the portrait. "I'm Head Boy!" 

Ron rolled his eyes next to Josie, mumbling to her "Percy. My brother. He's a git."

As the tall, red haired boy got to the portrait, he turned to the crowd, telling them that someone needed to alert Dumbledore, but he was already making his way up the staircase towards the portrait. Josie couldn't read their lips as he spoke to Percy, she still didn't know what happened. Percy instructed everyone to disperse, and once they did, Josie saw what happened.

The Fat Lady's portrait had been slashed, torn to bits, rather. Just as Dumbledore turned to the students, Peeves swooped down and landed on one of the stairs' railings. 

"We need to find her," Dumbledore started, but Peeves interrupted him.

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves cackled, the students turning to look over to him.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore beckoned, taking a step closer to him.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing," he added unconvincingly. 

"Did she say who did it?" 

"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black." 

Josie gasped, doing the same thing she did when jumped in fear a while back in Care of Magical Creatures. She grabbed Ron's wrist out of instinct, but this time, she didn't hurry to let go, which he didn't seem to mind. 

"Everyone, to the Great Hall." Dumbledore ordered, ushering students down the staircase. The four of them followed the group, occasionally glancing to Harry, who looked numb.

"He was trying to find me, no doubt." he mumbled as they hurried into the Great Hall, the tables laying upright against the stone walls, hundreds of sleeping bags sprawled out on the floor. 

"You don't know that." Hermione warned.

"What else would he be wanting to go into Gryffindor Tower for, Hermione?" Ron asked, annoyed. They all picked their own sleeping bags then went to a corner, laying down in them as instructed.

"Don't worry, Harry, Dumbledore's here. He won't let Black get to you." Josie reassured, earning a numb smile and nod from him. She pulled the beanie off her head, brushing her fingers through her hair. She couldn't help but notice how scared everyone seemed at the news that Sirius Black was somewhere in the castle. She was so distracted by her thoughts at she didn't even notice Ron watching her as he lay in his sleeping bag, smiling to himself. She was pulled back into the moment when Hermione spoke.

"Josie, your hand! It's all red, what on Earth happened?" she questioned in a nervous tone. Josie looked down to her hand, which was definitely more red now than it was before. She glanced up to Ron who shared her smile.

"I might have punched Malfoy." At her words, Harry and Hermione sprung up out of their sleeping bags.

"What?!" 

"That's amazing!" 

"Harry! No, it's not!" Hermione glared to him, folding her arms as Ron sat back up.

"Yes it was, it was bloody brilliant. He deserved it, anyway." Ron defended Josie, not being able to wipe the grin off his face.

"He came up to us at the Three Broomsticks, and he was poking fun at us for being on a 'date' and-"

"A date?"

"Were you two on a date?" 

"No!" Josie insisted to Harry and Hermione. "He then proceeded to make fun of Ron's family, and that's something I won't stand for." Josie shrugged.

"So you punched him? That's wicked." Harry complimented with the same grin Ron had on. 

"Honestly, it's not funny." Hermione whined. "You two could've gotten in so much trouble. You never get in trouble, Josie, what's gotten into you?" Josie now had a grin on her own face, looking over to Ron as she answered.

"I don't know," she stated, "but I like it."


	8. dementors

The only topic of discussion for the following days was Sirius Black and how he could have possibly gained access into the castle. Josie overheard Snape suggesting that he had help getting in, but Dumbledore refuted his claim. 

Now that Black tried to gain entry once, Harry was watched like a hawk. Teachers and prefects were always escorting him from lesson to lesson, leaving Josie, Ron, and Hermione unable to get their friend alone for even a moment. 

While sitting in the common room, Josie found herself doodling on her parchment that was meant to hold a rather large essay on the shrinking solution for Snape. She couldn't focus on it, though, so she resorted to drawing instead. She was pulled out of her daze when Harry stormed into the room, the portrait hanging open behind him as he sat next to Ron on the sofa. 

"I'm so sick of this! They're following me everywhere I go! And you know what McGonagall said? She said she didn't want me going to quidditch practices at night. I told her there's not a chance that I'll be missing any of those," he huffed, folding his arms angrily. "She gave in eventually, but I can't stand it, they think I'm completely incapable of handling things on my own." 

The three quiet students glanced to each other, knowing they should let him cool off before intervening. Hermione spoke up at once. 

"At least she's agreed to let you practice, that's good, right?" she suggested hopefully. He nodded but avoided their eyes, frowning to himself. Just as the room lulled into a peaceful silence, the twins came bursting into the common room, panting heavily. 

"Oi, Harry," Fred started, "Wood's requested an emergency meeting."

"Says it's about the match, it's urgent." George finished for his brother. Harry nodded and stood, following them quickly out of the room. Hermione sighed angrily at her essay. 

"I can't find anything I need for this," she said, packing her things into her bag, "I'm going to the library. Care to join me?" She looked to Josie, avoiding Ron. They were still feuding. 

"No, thanks, 'Mione. I've got all I need here. Have fun." Josie said politely. Hermione said goodbye and quickly made her way out of the room as well, that's when Josie noticed no one else was in there with them. It was just the two of them, again. 

"How's Scabbers?" Josie questioned, closing her textbook and rolling the bare parchment up. Ron didn't look up to her as he answered, he was deep in his star charts that he hadn't yet finished. 

"He's fine. Got a bit of PTSD, as I suspected. That bloody monster of a cat," he spat to himself as Josie stood from the table, leaving her things to join him on the couch in front of the fireplace. Ron looked up once he felt the cushion sink, closing his journal without a second thought. 

"I'm sorry about that," Josie said, "I don't suppose you'll be making up with Hermione any time soon?"

"Not a chance. She's got to apologize for that cat of her's first." Ron said, earning a small laugh from Josie. 

"That'll never happen." she smiled to him, Hermione wasn't exactly the type to swallow her pride and apologize. They sat in silence again for a few minutes. 

"So, you goin' to the match? First one of the season." Ron asked, tilting his head and turning his body towards her. She followed suit, sitting facing him instead of the fire. 

"I dunno, maybe. I usually only go to the final matches," she shrugged, "I've never really been into quidditch." 

Ron's mouth hung open, looking like Josie just confided in him that she was planning to kill her whole family. 

"Not into quidditch? That's bloody ridiculous!" he defended, shaking his head quickly, "Nonsense, you'll have to come now. I'll explain everything to you, don't worry." 

Josie found herself smiling like an idiot at the thought of them watching the match together, of course with Hermione, too. 

"Fine, I'll go. Only because you seem so passionate about it." Josie laughed, Ron's ears turned pink again. "You really love quidditch this much?" 

Almost instantly, she understood why Hermione told her to never ask Ron about quidditch. He seemed to talk for hours about his favorite team, the Chudley Cannons, and how he and his brothers played growing up, but never seemed to explain why he didn't try out for Gryffindor's team. She figured it might be a touchy subject, so she didn't bring it up. Instead, she just smiled and listened to Ron as he talked, his face lit up at the chance to gush over his favorite thing, and Josie would happily volunteer to listen again. 

Ron went on and on for ages, talking so much that neither of them realized how dark it had gotten until students pilled into the common room and into their dormitories. Even Hermione and Harry passed the pair, but saw they were in a deep conversation and left them alone. Ron had continued his spiel about how the Chudley Cannons should've won their latest match way into the night. Josie's eyes began to grow heavy, but she didn't want him to stop talking. So, instead of going up to her room, she lay back against the sofa's arm, nodding along to his stories. 

He seemed to grow sleepy as well, since he did the same thing on the opposite end of the sofa. He eventually laid down and stared at the ceiling, still mumbling about quidditch, until the pair actually fell asleep on the couch together. The fire had burnt out eventually, but neither of them were uncomfortable enough to wake, so they slept there peacefully, together. 

-

"Josie! There you are! And- Ron?" Hermione shrieked when she found the two on the sofa the next morning. Josie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she sat up, yawning and stretching until she realized what happened last night. 

"We fell a-a-asleep?" Ron questioned as he woke across from her, yawning as he spoke. Josie laughed softly. 

"It appears you talked about quidditch into the wee hours of the night." she laughed, getting up and looking to a confused Hermione. Josie pulled her by the hand back up the spiral staircase. 

"What the hell did I just walk into?" Hermione asked, sitting on Josie's bed as she began to dress herself for the day ahead. 

"We just fell asleep," she called to her, buttoning a new shirt, "he kept going on and on about quidditch, and he just... looked too happy to ask him to stop. So I laid down, he laid down, and we fell asleep." Hermione folded her arms, looking at her with a skeptical grin. 

"Are you sure that's all that happened, Josie Avery?" she asked, trying to hide her laughter. Josie laughed with her as she pulled on her black, uniformed skirt. 

"Unfortunately, yes. No juicy gossip for you today, Miss Granger. C'mon, I'm starving." With that, Josie pulled her friend out and down to the Great Hall, giving Ron a passing smile as he just barely made it off the couch. 

-

CRACK!

Josie sprang awake a few days later, a huge lightning bolt striking the Hogwarts grounds causing the crack that woke her so abruptly. She turned her head to the stone wall that held a small clock.

6:09 a.m.

She shivered as she pushed herself out of bed, wrapping her night robes around her tightly as she made her way to the window. It was all a wet blur outside, the rain pounding down on the roof tiles surround the pane. Squinting her eyes to try to detect anything outside, she wiped the glass with her sleeve. Nothing. All she saw was a screen of grey. Shaking her head in defeat, she went to turn before she saw a glimpse of color.

A small orange blob was making it's way towards the Forbidden Forrest. Josie's heart sank, thinking it was her own cat, Gemini. She turned quickly to check if she was on her pillow, and there she was. Sleeping peacefully. Turning back to the window, she reached the conclusion that it must be Crookshanks. Turning yet again to go back to bed, she froze when she saw another blob. This blob wasn't orange, no. It was black. 

Wiping the glass furiously, she actually got a closer look at the two shapes. The orange one was definitely Crookshanks the cat, and Josie's eyes widened when she realized the shape of the black blob: a giant dog. 

Her heart started to race, her mind whirling at the reasons a random giant, black dog would be on the Hogwarts grounds. First Sirius Black is reportedly in the castle, now whatever Trelawney was talking about was making an appearance? "The Grim", she called it. Saying it was one of the worst omens known to man - an omen of death. 

She pulled the curtains shut quickly, hurrying back to her bed and covering herself and Gemini, cuddling her close as she sat, panicked. She only told Hermione about her tea leaves, so she couldn't exactly go freaking out in front of her other roommates, or even the boys. No, she decided to keep her sighting to herself. If Harry said something about seeing it, too, then she would tell them. Holding her kitty close, she fell back asleep eventually, even with the disturbingly loud thunder. 

\- 

"Josie! Josie, get up! We've got to leave!"

She woke with a start just like earlier that day, only this time to Hermione shaking her furiously. She was dressed in her usual, Saturday afternoon casual clothes, but with an added layer of protection, no doubt due to the rain. That's when Josie remembered the first quidditch match was today, and she was to be there to support her house. 

Josie jumped out of bed, hurrying to her wardrobe and quickly changing into the appropriate clothing for the occasion, not to mention the horrendous weather. The rain was still pouring down, thunder clapping every now and then.

"How could the match still be on?" Josie asked, tying up her boots, "I mean, it's absolutely awful out there. How will they see?" Hermione tossed her a maroon scarf, which she wrapped around her neck securely. The pair hurried downstairs to where most of the students were waiting to go together.

"It's quidditch, it's almost never canceled if Wood's got a say in it." she laughed as they walked up to Ron who was also bundled up in protective wear. His fuzzy hat was slightly off kilter, though, his crazy red hair standing out like a sore thumb compared to the hat's beige color. He gave the girls an excited smile. 

"Harry's already gone with the team," he said excitedly, "we can leave now. Ready?" he asked, turning and hurrying out the door, leaving the girls to trudge behind him, not excited in the slightest to get drenched. Josie couldn't help but smile even though the thought was miserable, she enjoyed seeing Ron so excited and into something. He was rarely this excited about anything, especially not his studies. He did seem to get this hyped for sweets, though.

\- 

"I've never been up this high before!" Josie yelled to her friends as they climbed up to the top seats in the Gryffindor stands, having to strain her voice so they could hear her over the loud rain. They were drenched the moment they stepped outside, and it didn't help that Ron insisted on being in the top wing to see everything. The three of them settled into their spots, not even bothering to sit due to the giant puddles on the bench. The rest of Gryffindor House seemed follow, everyone was overly excited about this match. First one of the season, against Hufflepuff. 

It was supposed to be against Slytherin, which would've been way more interesting, to say the least. Draco still whined about his arm, so they have since postponed. Hufflepuff had a good team, though, despite not getting much recognition from the other houses. Their captain was the very handsome Cedric Diggory.

He was a charming fifth year, everyone seemed to like him. Harry didn't like him much, though, and Josie figured it was because they were rivals on the field. He was the Hufflepuff Seeker, just like Harry was for their house. Josie hadn't paid much attention to Cedric's quidditch skills before, so she had no idea what to expect. She knew Harry was an amazing seeker, however. 

"There they are!" Ron smiled, pointing down to the field as the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams were walking out from their tents with Madam Hooch, the quidditch referee. They were just barely visible because of the pouring rain, all Josie could make out were their uniform colors. Scarlet red and gold, black and yellow. 

Lee Jordan's voice suddenly boomed through the pitch, as he was the usual commentator, though McGonagall had to keep a close eye on him for being incredibly biased. The tiny blobs of color suddenly lifted into the air, and the match had started. Ron instantly started cheering, Josie and Hermione eventually joining in as the game went on.

The Weasley twins were exceptionally well beaters, their buff builds made them perfect for the role. They hit the bludger effortlessly, causing the heavy ball to fly into the Hufflepuff chasers. Fred had just hit a bludger right into one of the opposing team's chasers, Zacharias Smith, causing him to nearly swing off his broom. The students in the Gryffindor stands went wild as it caused them a goal. Josie smiled and cheered for Fred, clapping wildly as Fred swooped down close to the stands. He flew by them, earning cheers and praise before speeding away, turning his head to glance back. His eyes landed on Josie's, and even though it was pouring fiercely, she had saw him wink to her. 

Josie's brows furrowed, she wasn't quite sure if she had just seen what she thought she saw. Her cheeks were already red from the whipping of the rain, yet the shade of red deepened as she blushed at the thought of him meaning to wink at her. He sped off within another second, noticing Harry and Cedric's sudden pull into the clouds. They were so thick that the audience couldn't see them once they flew up, so they were left to cheer for the chasers, keepers, and beaters. 

Something caught her eye, however, it was quick as a flash, and black as night. It almost seemed like it was that giant, black dog again, but it couldn't possibly be flying. Her attention left the match as she whirled her head around and gasped at her discovery. Way up in the clouds where Harry and Cedric went, a dark, cloaked figured flew up towards them. 

"Ron!" she gasped, hitting his arm to grab his attention. He yelped at the sudden pain and turned to her with a frown until he saw what she was so frantic about. Within seconds, more and more dementors seemed to follow and chase the seekers, focusing on Harry mostly. 

Within minutes, there had to have been hundreds of them chasing Harry above the clouds, forcing him to fly higher and higher until he was completely out of sight again. Josie's insides churned as she saw a falling body, then a falling broom. She shrieked at the realization that Harry was falling down from hundreds of feet in the air, totally limp. She couldn't watch, quickly turning into Ron's shoulder to shield her eyes, holding her breath until she heard:

"Arresto Momentum."

Harry's body slowed in midair until he landed safely on the ground, Dumbledore hurrying down the stands after casting the slowing charm so he wouldn't fall to his death. Josie was frozen with shock as she turned back to watch as people hurried to Harry, pulling him away and into the tent.

"Oh my God," Josie whimpered, terrified for her friend, "the dementors! They could've killed him if Dumbledore wasn't here!" Josie cried out, still yelling over the loud rain. Ron put a hand on her arm, trying to be a calming agent, but his face said it all. He was distraught too, as was Hermione. The crowd was still for a moment until the Hufflepuff side roared, celebrating their victory as Cedric caught the golden snitch. 

"C'mon, let's go," Ron said, pulling the girls down and out of the stands, hurrying towards the infirmary with the Gryffindor team. Fred and George were all muddy and wet from the rain, as was Oliver Wood, the keeper, and the three chasers, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell. Josie had never met them before, but now wasn't exactly the perfect time for an introduction. 

-

"Thought he was dead for sure." Fred nodded to his teammates as Josie, Ron, and Hermione hurried to Harry's side in the hospital wing. He was sleeping now, but he was badly cut up all over his face, muddy, and drenched in rain. Oliver Wood was whining loudly in the corner, crying about how this could cost them the Quidditch Cup. Josie rolled her eyes angrily, standing next to Ron as Hermione sat at Harry's side. 

She couldn't contain her emotions, silently looking down to her injured friend, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Ron glanced down to her, noticing how upset she looked. He leaned closer to her, speaking in a hushed tone. 

"He'll be okay, Josie," he whispered, "he's come back from a lot worse than this." Josie sniffled and quickly wiped the mixture of rain and tears from her cheeks, nodding to him. She hated getting emotional in front of people, but sometimes she couldn't help it. This was definitely one of those times. 

Harry began to stir as he woke, the crowd towering over him to watch as he opened his eyes. His teammates explained what happened, and Oliver Wood stopped crying long enough to show Harry the pathetic remains of his broken Nimbus 2000. Harry was devastated, but before anyone could ask him more questions, they were all shooed away by Madam Pomfrey. 

Josie followed her friends back to the common room, staying silent within her own thoughts. She cursed herself for not letting her friends know about that dog she saw, maybe they could have warned Harry about what would've happened. But it was too late now, the damage was done, but she couldn't help think that what she saw earlier that morning was somehow related to the dementors.


	9. a grim discovery

It had been a week since the dementor incident. Dumbledore was furious, he thought those creatures were vile and specifically requested for them to not enter the premises. Harry was let out of the hospital wing after a full weekend of supervision, along with Madam Pomfrey booting out visitors every other hour.

Professor Lupin had returned, as well, from his momentary lapse due to an illness that Professor Snape didn't care to elaborate on. He had assigned a two parchment essay on werewolves while Lupin was gone, which annoyed the students because they were nowhere near that section. The whole class explained what happened to Lupin when he returned.

"He did what?" 

"-two rolls of parchment!"

"We don't know anything on werewolves-"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?"Lupin asked, frowning slightly. 

"Yes, he said we were really behind-"

"-he wouldn't listen-"

"two rolls of parchment!"

Professor Lupin smiled at his students' explosion of complaints.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."

Most of the class was relieved, except for Hermione, who had complained that she already finished it. After explaining what happened, their Defense lesson was on hinkypunks, little one-legged creatures who looked as though they were made of wisps of smoke, rather than frail and harmless-looking. Lupin explained that they lure travelers into bogs with a little lantern that dangles from their hands, luring them to their ultimate death.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and hurried for the door, Josie, Ron, Hermione, and Harry included, but Lupin asked them to stay back.

"I heard about the match," he said, leaning against one of the desks with his arms folded, looking at them, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick, Harry. Is there no hopes in repairing it?" Josie glanced to all of her friends' faces, noticing their uncomfortable and sad expressions at the memory. 

"No," Harry shook his head, "The Whomping Willow smashed it to bits." Lupin frowned at this, standing up straight again and turning to walk to his desk as he explained the origins of the Whomping Willow.

"They planted that tree the same year I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. Even your mother, Josie, played a few times. She got pretty far before she had to be brought to the hospital wing," he smiled to Josie as he sat in his chair. Josie smiled at the thought of her own mother taking part in such mischief. 

"In the end, however, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would stand a chance." he finished, shaking his head.

"Did you hear about the dementors, too?" Harry asked. Lupin nodded.

"Yes, I did. I would actually like to have a word alone with you about that, Harry." Lupin looked to the three standing beside Harry. Josie got the hint and pulled her friends out of the classroom quickly, walking with them to the Great Hall. 

"Wonder what he wanted to talk about with just Harry," Hermione said, sitting next to her friends at the Gryffindor table. Josie shrugged, digging into her salad that had magical appeared. 

"Maybe he's gonna sign Harry's permission slip! For the second Hogsmeade trip? It's tomorrow. You're coming this time, right, Hermione?" Ron looked to her eagerly as he munched on a turkey drumstick. Josie noticed just how eager his words sounded, and she frowned to herself, thinking that maybe he didn't want to go through another Hogsmeade trip alone with her. Not that she was jealous of Hermione, she was one of her closest friends, she could never feel that way towards her.

"Yes! I've finally got a handle on all of my work, so I think a good break is in order." She smiled to him, going into her book nose-first as she ate her lunch. She hated to admit it, but Josie lost her appetite since hearing how eager Ron was to find out if Hermione was going or not. She pushed her barely-touched plate forward, and it flipped itself over, the remaining food disappearing as the plate cleaned itself. 

Josie cursed herself for forgetting her own busy-work, but she didn't know that this was how lunch would turn out with her friends. Instead of looking towards her friends, she lifted her head to look all around the filled Great Hall. Students were pilling in as soon as their morning classes ended, desperate to eat their lunch. She landed her eyes on the Slytherin table. Pansy, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini, another third year, were all chatting to themselves. 

She rested her chin on her palm, mindlessly people-watching until she noticed a pair of pale, grey eyes on her. Draco was staring directly at her. She expected him to make a face, say something to her, or do anything of his usual sort. But he didn't. 

To Josie's surprise, he gave her a small smile. It seemed almost familiar to her, like he was smiling at her because she was an old friend. But she wasn't. They had never been friends, and they never would be, according to her. She quickly turned away without offering a smile back to him, praying that no one saw what just happened between them. 

\- 

It was way too cold out to be wearing that same jacket she wore the first time to Hogsmeade. It had been just autumn, then, and now it was nearly full-on winter. Josie stuffed her thin jacket back into her wardrobe and pulled forward her thick fleece sweater that her mom had made for her. It was a dusty rose pink and had beige cuffs and a fluffy hood. She smiled, the coat reminding her of her mother. 

She quickly dressed in the warmest clothes she had, giving Gemini a kiss on the head as she hurried down to the group of Gryffindors waiting to go down to leave for the village. Ron and Hermione were waiting for her in the corner, talking quietly and smiling to each other. Josie's heart pinged at the scene, but her conscious made her squash her feelings, forcing herself to remember that Hermione was not into Ron like that. But it sure as hell looked like they were getting close. Josie hurried over to them, smiling as she interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, I'm here," she said, "ready to go?" Her two friends turned to her with excited smiles.

"Yep!"

"Let's go."

They followed their housemates out and on to the grounds, which were now covered in a light coating of snow. The air was so cold and crisp that it stung Josie's eyes, her nose and cheeks instantly turning red at the wind that started to blow against her. She shivered, holding her own body for warmth as she noticed the two Weasley Twins hurrying to catch up with the crowd, out of breath. They smiled as they walked past the trio.

"Hey, guys," George smiled.

"Got a bit of shopping to do? Or perhaps some more physical violence, Avery?" Fred laughed, hurrying to the front of the crowd with his brother. Josie would have normally laughed back to him, but the sight she witnessed just a bit earlier dampened her spirits a bit. Watching Fred closely as he caught up with Lee Jordan, she remembered the wink she got from him during the quidditch match. Glancing over to her friends, she decided right now was a perfect time to ask for their opinions.

"Your brother's a flirt, you know," Josie started, glancing to Ron, "Fred." Hermione furrowed her brows curiously. Ron's head turned quickly, looking down to Josie.

"What're you getting at?" he asked, sounding tense. Josie shrugged as she kept looking forward towards the twins.

"Fred winked at me during the quidditch match. Didn't you see?" she asked, lightening her voice to sound innocent. Hermione scoffed in a playful way.

"You're joking," she laughed, her steps seemingly more like stomps.

"That git," Ron spat, glaring up at his brothers.

"It was just a wink. It was when he caused Hufflepuff a goal, he was probably just him being cocky," she laughed, knowing that is was exactly that. She hadn't spoken more than a few words to Fred, and he was a rumored flirt. Ron huffed, shaking his head quickly. 

"Still, that's so rude," Hermione added, "I mean, honestly, can't he hit on someone his own age?" she asked, folding her arms as they made their way to an opening that had a clear view of the Shrieking Shack, reportedly one of the most haunted places in Great Britain. 

"I don't understand, why is it such a problem?" Josie asked, getting a bit defensive since her friends seemed to think she wasn't worthy of a wink from Fred Weasley. 

"Because he's my brother," Ron answered, his face noticeably more red. 

"And what's so wrong with that?" Josie asked, her voice raising. Ron opened his mouth to respond, but shook his head instead, turning and leaning against the fence that faced the Shrieking Shack. Josie huffed, leaning against the fence a considerable amount of feet away from Ron with a furious expression. 

"Let's not fight, guys," Hermione whined, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. Josie turned her head to look at her. 

"I'm not fighting anyone,"

"Me neither."

"Good. Now let's go get some sweets for Harry, yeah?" Hermione suggested, dropping her hands from their shoulders. Josie nodded but kept her glare, walking behind them as they all made their way back towards the shops. She kept walking until she heard footsteps walking behind her.

She turned quickly, but no one was standing there. Her heart started to race, unable to place why she was suddenly hearing things. She tried to catch up to her friends but she tripped quickly, falling forward into the snow. She whimpered as the snow covered her, soaking her completely. She turned her head to look at what caused her to trip, but nothing was there. She could've sworn it felt like a foot.

Feeling a great amount of embarrassment, she pushed herself up but yelped when yet another thing happened to her. A giant, freezing snowball landed perfectly on her head, soaking her hair even more. She let out an exasperated scream, now freezing and soaked head to toe from an invisible source. Her friends ahead turned quickly and went back to her frantically. 

"Josie!"

"What the bloody hell happened to you?"

She looked to her friends, face completely red in embarrassment now. She shook the snow off her clothes and out of her hair as a distant laugh started to grow louder, getting closer. She turned quickly and her eyes widened when she suddenly saw Harry appear out of nowhere. He was laughing hysterically, folding up a long piece of cloth. Ron started to chuckle behind her.

"Harry! Did you really walk the whole way here under that thing?!" Hermione asked irritably.

"No-" Harry laughed, trying to continue but he was too caught up in how funny the situation was. Josie connected the dots that he must've been the one to trip her and throw the snowball at her using what could only be an Invisibility Cloak. 

"I'm glad you find this funny, Harry," she said, shivering furiously, goosebumps forming all over her skin. Ron tried his best to conceal his laughter, but the situation seemed all too funny to them. Thankfully, Hermione was too furious with Harry because he's out and about when Black is still on the loose, so she didn't laugh at her. 

Josie could usually take a joke, any other day she would have laughed with them and thrown a snowball back to him, but today was not a good day for her, and the added wetness to her clothes didn't help. She clenched her firsts tightly, trying to keep her emotions in check, but she was failing. Her eyes started to sting as tears welled up in her eyes, the whipping wind not helping the situation. 

She hurried past her laughing friends, running towards the shops and pubs. She knew the Three Broomsticks had a fireplace, and hopefully a washroom to clean herself up in. Pushing past students and residents, she finally made her way into the crowded pub. She saw that the fire was roaring, but there was a huge crowd of students sitting in front of it, and they would no doubt laugh at her. 

All of these events led to Josie hurrying into the small, just-as-cramped washroom, sniffling as she locked the door and peeled her soaked coat off. She shivered, leaning against the wall and sliding down into a sitting position, hugging her knees. Today was not her day at all. 

She had to admit, she was being a bit dramatic. It was just a bit of fun, she thought to herself. But it was at her expense, and now she was sitting in the Three Broomsticks washroom, alone and wet. She knew her friends didn't mean any harm, but it felt like the whole world was against her today. 

It had been only a few minutes until she heard a soft knock on the door. She instantly stood up, wiping her tear-stained cheeks.

"I-I'll be out in a minute," Josie called politely, thinking it was a customer needing the toilet. She sniffled again, grabbing her still-soaked coat. 

"It's me," a soft, deep voice called from the other side of the door. She froze, realizing it was Ron. She quickly looked in the mirror, waving her hands to dry her eyes, blinking fast so they wouldn't look red. She opened the door slowly, looking up at him as she stood there, with her hair deflated and wet, clothes just as drenched. Ron wasn't laughing anymore, to her surprise. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her up and down, no doubt just noticing how wet she seemed to be. Josie simply nodded in response. He gave her a stern expression.

"I know you're lying, you're soaked," he said, "can't be too good, being out in this weather like that." He gave her a small smile, pulling off his own fluffy coat. He took a step closer to her, his face mere inches from hers as he wrapped his coat around her shoulders. Josie was stunned, she didn't see Ron doing something like this, especially for her. He gave her a small smile as he took her wet coat from her hands.

"Better?" he asked, earning a nod from her, "C'mon, they've got us a table." Josie followed him out into the crowded pub again, sitting down next to him at the table where Hermione sat. Hermione instantly perked up when she sat, looked extremely worried.

"Josie, are you okay?" she asked quickly, "Are you hurt? Frostbite is a nasty thing, you know." 

Josie shook her head, smiling a little, still thinking about the fact that she was wearing Ron's jacket. She jumped when her other friend's voice perked up out of nowhere.

"Josie, I'm so sorry," Harry said quietly, obviously under the cloak again to hide from professors, "I didn't realize how wet you were gonna get." 

"It's fine, Harry," she smiled, "it's all good fun, right?" 

"Yeah, of course!" he said, sounding obviously relieved that she wasn't mad at him. Josie shivered once more as the warm air from the fire went through her, warming her up as it dried her coat. She looked over to Ron who had his sleeves rolled up, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest. She couldn't help but admire, snuggling into his jacket. 

\- 

After nearly an hour of casual chat within the group so Josie could dry her clothes, Harry suddenly went silent. He was in the middle of talking about something with Hermione, so she questioned him as to why he went quiet. 

"Look who just showed up," Harry whispered to them, all of them turning their heads quickly. It was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, walking in with Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, and Professor McGonagall. They walked up to an older, attractive blonde woman. They all greeted each other and eventually made their way towards Josie and her friends. Ron quickly turned towards the fire to shield the group from their view, all of them listening in closely. 

It was the usual talk of the town. Fudge explained to the woman, who Ron told Josie was Madam Rosemerta, the pub owner, how Sirius Black was suspected to be hiding somewhere in Hogsmeade or around the Hogwarts castle. The group of them frowned at the usual gossip until something new made their ears perk. 

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the dark side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead." 

"You don't even know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known." 

"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?" 

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" 

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?" 

"Naturally," said Rosmerta with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here - ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter." Josie's breath hitched at this alarming news, as did everyone else's. Harry's father, best friends with Sirius Black?

"Exactly," said McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ring leaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course - exceptionally bright, in fact - but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers-"

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid, "Fred and George Weasley would certainly give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was the best man at Potter's wedding, when he married Lily Evans. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea of this, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him." 

"Because Black was in line with You-Know-Who?" whispered Rosmerta. 

"Worse even than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against him, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding and have a Secret-Keeper, someone who is magically bound to keep their location to themselves."

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Rosmerta. 

"Naturally," said McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Secret-Keeper for them himself." 

"Dumbledore was sure somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements." said McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing information to Him." 

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?" 

"He did, and then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed, Black was tired of his double agent life and betrayed them. Then he fled. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to flee." 

Josie's heart was pounding as she listened in on their conversation. Her jaw hung open at the information they were learning, completely shocked at the idea of Sirius Black being Harry's godfather. She couldn't even imagine how Harry was feeling as Hagrid went on a rant about how vile Black was, and how he wrongfully trusted him. 

"The Ministry failed to catch him, I'm afraid. But that little Peter Pettigrew - another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing Black had been the Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself. But his plan blew up in his face, Black had cast a curse so dreadful it made a crater in the middle of the road, bodies lay everywhere, the only thing left of Pettigrew was a finger..." Fudge's voice stopped abruptly, the group going quiet. 

"We better get back to the castle, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster." McGonagall said, then, one by one, they all left. 

-

It had been hours since they discovered the truth about Sirius Black. They were all now back in the common room, sitting on the sofa in front of the fire, Josie still needing to warm up. 

Harry sat silently, staring at the flames. He was visibly numb. Neither of them wanted to bring the topic up, so they all sat with him. Josie was still wearing Ron's coat, telling him that it was the warmest thing she's ever worn, so she needed it since he laughed at her. 

Harry eventually came back to reality, looking to his friends with confusion and hurt in his voice. 

"He was their friend," he started, "and he betrayed them." Hermione frowned sadly, leaning into him for support. 

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Josie said quietly, leaning into him on the other side. She rested her head on his shoulder, going quiet after. She half expected him to push her off, but he actually laid his head on hers. 

The four of them sat there quietly for a while. They didn't go down for supper, they just wanted to stay with their friend in need. And they were all happy to do it.


	10. christmas at hogwarts

It had been just a few days after the group overheard the truth about Sirius Black. Harry didn't seem to lighten up, despite Ron, Hermione, and Josie's attempts. The only thing that seemed to get him to cheer up was a visit to Hagrid's. 

Once they had made their way down to his little hut, they were met with a blubbering Hagrid. He could barely get the words out when he explained that Buckbeak's 'attack' on Malfoy resulted in his sentencing to death. After their attempts at consoling him, they eventually left his house and went back to the castle to find anything on a hippogriff case to help their friend.

-

Josie found herself alone and walking through the corridors down to the Great Hall on Christmas Eve. The castle had a reputation for being decked out in decorations; large, fir trees were placed in every corner, and twelve even bigger trees were standing proudly in the Great Hall. 

A cold breeze was sweeping through the open windows of the halls, causing Josie to shiver and pull her robes tighter around her. She loved Christmas, especially the decorations and gift giving. She had fond memories of the holiday seasons with her family, but unfortunately this year her mother decided to take a vacation with her grandparents, leaving Josie to stay at the castle for the holidays. She would normally be upset about this, because in the previous years her friends would leave too, but now she had a new group of friends who were all staying, too. 

She smiled to herself as she picked a spot at the Gryffindor table, sitting down and opening her Potions textbook, deciding to get a headstart on the insanely long essay that was assigned for the new term. 

Potions was one of her least favorite classes, unfortunately. It was just too much math and chemistry, and the stakes were high if you messed up a potion in Snape's class. They were just starting on healing ingredients, she had to choose three ingredients that she felt would be most useful and explain why in no less than twelves inches of parchment. 

Josie couldn't help her eyes starting to slipi closed due to the level of boredom in this textbook, reading about dittany and valerian root was nothing short of boring. She was jostled awake by the sudden slamming of books on the table in front of her, the person sitting down across from her. 

It was Fred Weasley, fiery-red hair shining from the stray ray of sunlight. He had a mischievous smirk on his face, and Josie knew enough about him to avoid him when he was looking especially-mischievous. 

"Staying for Christmas, Avery?" he beckoned, leaning his elbows on the table as Josie closed the book, relieved to be pulled away from Potions. She nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, you are too, right? Ron said you all were," she replied, earning a nod from the Weasley boy. 

"Yes, of course," he smirked, leaning in and lowering his voice, "got loads of studying to do." Josie wrinkled her nose, instantly catching that he was lying, which made him burst into a small laugh.

"Only joking," he shook his head, "Percy's going home, so George and I are staying here. Can't stand him these days since he's Head Boy." he emphasized the last words. Josie knew that Percy was not well liked by his brothers because he was sort of a git, always getting them into trouble and giving out detentions because he thinks he's special with his new position. 

"I wouldn't go either," Josie shrugged, "I haven't really met him but from what your brother tells me he isn't fun to be around." 

"Oh yeah? You and my brother talk a lot, eh?" Fred questioned, another smirk playing across his lips. Josie's cheeks flushed, Fred and George usually found joy in teasing her about her crush on Ron, but she still tried to conceal it.

"I don't talk to him any more than anyone else does, Weasley." she laughed it off, avoiding his eyes.

"You and I both know that isn't true, Avery. Or at least we both know you don't want it to be true." 

"And so what if it is? Do you have a problem with that?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a look of triumph, like he stumped him. But she didn't.

"Of course not, I just want to make sure you don't settle, 'is all." Fred mimicked her, crossing his arms over his chest. Josie's expression turned to confusion. 

"You're talking about your own brother, you know," she said, "I would definitely not be settling." 

"AHA! So you admit that you like him," he insisted, pointing his finger at her. Josie shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, Fred. Why do you care so much?" she asked, an annoying feeling stirring in her. His usual smirk actually faded at this, making him drop his arms from his chest. 

"I'm just looking out for you," he uttered, pushing himself up and grabbing his books as he stood, "Merry Christmas, Avery." Fred then turned on his heels and hurried out of the great hall, leaving behind an even more confused Josie. 

-

After another twenty minutes of trying to study, Josie gave up and made her way back to the common room. She half expected it to be filled with students, excitedly talking about Christmas and what kind of gifts they would be getting. But she was met with only five to seven people, three of them being her friends. Plopping down on the sofa next to the fireplace, she sighed, causing her friends to look at her.

"Snape's insane for assigning this essay, I was just downstairs trying to study but I retained next to nothing," she frowned, setting her books on the coffee table. 

"You've started already?" Ron asked, his eyes wide. Hermione laughed, knowing Ron was never the one to get a head start on homework.

"Yeah, but then Fred came over to me and distracted me-" 

"Fred went over to you?" he blurted out, pushing himself to sit up straight, looking at Josie. Harry and Hermione shared confused looks. 

"Yeah..." Josie answered slowly, "he was just telling me how he can't stand Percy now that he's Head Boy." Josie shrugged, not noticing Ron's cheeks deepen to a crimson shade. He sank back into his seat, avoiding her eyes. 

The room went quiet after Ron's outburst. The light from outside was slowly fading, the sky darkening into a deep grey as it threatened to snow yet again. Josie shrugged off what just happened, standing up and going over to the window. 

She smiled when she saw Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, chasing something in the snow. He was always getting outside and chasing after little animals, but he always came back to the common room after a while. Josie's own cat didn't leave her bed, much. She rarely came down to the common room, let alone go outside. 

"Anyway," Hermione blurted out, closing her book, "I'm really glad you're staying for the holidays, Josie." 

"I am, too," she smiled, glancing to Ron, who was still avoiding her eyes, "I'm kind of upset I won't see my mum, though." 

"It's alright, she's probably going to bring you a souvenir from- er.. where did you say she was going?" 

"Some countryside city in France," Josie shrugged, looking back to Hermione. She then proceeded to go on and on about how her parents would bring her to France for holidays, but Josie admittedly drowned her out. She couldn't stop herself from wondering why Ron was all quiet now. 

Was he jealous? 

Josie shot that idea down as it appeared in her mind. She was pretty sure Ron didn't share her feelings, but it wasn't adding up why he was so upset about her talking to Fred. It was very apparent that Fred didn't have bad intentions, so what was the problem?

"I'm gonna go to bed," Harry spoke softly after a while of Hermione's stories. He nodded to them quietly as he went up to the boys dormitory. Hermione huffed. 

"Well I guess no one is listening to my stories," she frowned, standing up, "I'm gonna go, too. See you tomorrow!" she smiled, going up to bed. 

Hermione and Harry had such a way of leaving Josie and Ron alone, they did it so many times that it didn't even phase Josie anymore. 

"Did Fred say anything bad about me?" Ron asked quietly after a few seconds of them being alone. Josie could hear the nervousness in his voice, almost like he didn't want to know the answer. She shook her head. 

"No, of course not." she stated truthfully, leaning back against the windowsill she was near. "I wouldn't let him do that." 

Ron stood up and made his way over to the window Josie was at. Once he got close enough Josie could tell that his face was still red. He had that same expression full of concern on his face as he leaned against the stone wall, facing her with his arms crossed. 

"You wouldn't?" he asked, analyzing her features. She could feel his eyes burning her skin. Josie learned to suppress her butterflies after a few weeks of hanging around him, but every time he got this close to her they would go crazy again. 

"No," she said softly, "I wouldn't." 

Her eyes met his, she could feel her palms getting sweaty as they just stood there in silence. Josie's heart began to race, beating a million miles a minute. Her mind was racing, thinking of all the possibilities of what was to come next; but she didn't expect him to turn away. 

He did, too. He turned on his heels and made his way over to the arch leading to the stairs. He turned back to Josie, sending her an awkward smile. 

"Merry Christmas, Josie." he said quietly before giving her a small wave and heading up to bed. The adrenaline that inhabited her body left at once, her shoulders slumping. She thought something was about to happen, but why would she think that? He's never shown interest in her like that. She cursed herself for getting her hopes up. 

Taking a shaky breath, Josie grabbed her books and went up to her own room where Hermione was sleeping soundly. Her other roommates were gone, just like they were for the previous years. She put her books back into her bag, tip toeing her way to her wardrobe as she put on her pajamas. 

Tomorrow would be better. They would all be busy with the festivities of Christmas, no essays to work on, no awkward conversations with Fred Weasley, and little to no opportunities to be alone with Ron again. She obviously wanted to spend more time with him, but not if she would be getting her hopes up for nothing. 

-

The next morning was one of the coldest yet. Josie woke very early from the frigid temperature, stretching her arms as she yawned. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she grinned at the sight of presents at the foot of her bed. Hermione was still asleep, so she decided to open them up carefully. 

The first one was from her mother, it was neatly packaged with a note tied to the parcel. She quietly opened the present and gasped at what she saw. It was an off-the-shoulder, deep violet colored dress that went down to her knees. It was small jewels all over it's fabric, making it glitter when she moved it just right. Josie beamed at the dress, reading the note from her mother. 

"My Dearest Josie, 

I hope you're doing well. How are classes going? Your last letter said you were having trouble in Potions. I hope you've gotten that under control. 

I hope you're having an amazing Christmas with your friends. Thank you for not being upset over me needing a small holiday. I also hope you love your present, I had it specially made just for you. Hopefully you'll get an opportunity to wear it. Merry Christmas, sweetheart. 

Love,   
Mum" 

She did love her present, it was absolutely gorgeous. She couldn't wait to show Hermione, maybe she would wear it to dinner. Hogwarts didn't really do formal dances, so Christmas dinner was the perfect opportunity. 

After opening her mother's present, she had realized just how many presents were left for her. She really only expected to get a gift from Hermione, but to her surprise, three more presents were sitting under Hermione's. She grabbed her's first, opening it quickly to reveal a small, pink planner. For homework, no doubt. She smiled fondly at it, putting it on her bedside table. Hermione may not get you exciting gifts, but they sure were useful. 

She grabbed the next present, noticing the tag that said "From Harry". Josie didn't anticipate getting a gift from Harry, she didn't really think he liked her all that much. She smiled as she opened it, revealing a small box filled with different treats from Honeydukes. It had a Chocolate Frog, Shock-o-Choc, some acid pops, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and some Fizzing Whizzbees. She thanked Merlin that she was an avid gift-giver, making sure to get Ron and Harry something, even though she really didn't expect them to give her anything. 

The next present was wrapped in a thick layer of brown paper with an unfamiliar tag on it. She curiously opened it to reveal a homemade, violet sweater with her initial on the front. As she pulled it out of the paper, a note fell. She grabbed it quickly, reading: 

"Josie, 

Merry Christmas. I hope you don't mind me making you a sweater, I had the extra material and figured I'd make you one since Ron has written to me so many times telling me all about you. I can't wait to meet you in person soon!

With love,   
Mr. & Mrs. Weasley"

Her mouth hung open. She was in complete disbelief at what she had just read. Ron's mum had made her a sweater, because he had written to her about Josie? She pulled the sweater into a hug, smiling as she let her mind drift off in a daydream before remembering there was one more present. She folded the sweater neatly and grabbed it, reading the note that had chicken-scratch on it. 

"Josie, 

Sorry, I'm not very good at gift giving. I saw it and thought you might like it. Hope you like it. 

Ron"

Her breath hitched as she read his note, just barely able to since his writing was so messy. He had picked this out himself, thinking she would like it. She knew that whatever it would be, she would love it just because it was from him. 

She was left in disbelief once again when she opened the gift to reveal a dainty gold necklace with a small star pendent on it. It was beautiful, it even matched her dress. She instantly put it on, holding the small pendant as she got up and dressed, wearing the itchy, yet warm sweater from his mother. She hid the dress in her wardrobe, planning to wear it later. 

-

A little while later, Hermione and Josie made their way down to breakfast in the Great Hall. Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were all wearing their mother's sweaters she made them, looking miserable. Harry was wearing his as well, but for the first time in a while he was actually smiling. They sat across the table from their friends and started to eat and chat about their gifts. 

"I loved that quill you got me, Harry, thank you." Hermione beamed to the dark haired boy. He smiled and nodded to her in response. Ron was about to say something when he paused, just now noticing what Josie was wearing. 

"Did my mum really send you a sweater?" he asked, looking completely embarrassed as Josie smiled. 

"Yes, it's amazing. I love it." she answered happily, looking down to the beautiful handiwork of Mrs. Weasley. She looked back up at him. "And I loved the necklace. Thank you." 

Ron's ears turned bright pink as he smiled down to his plate, shoveling his breakfast into his mouth to avoid the conversation. 

"I didn't know Ron got you that! It's beautiful, Ron, really." Hermione insisted, patting him on the shoulder. 

"How'd you get the money for a gold necklace?" Harry asked out of nowhere, Josie didn't even think about that. Ron didn't exactly have money flowing out of his pockets, so she was also curious as to how he got it. Ron shrugged. 

"I saved up. I always do for Christmas, how else would I be able to get you that set of Exploding Snaps?" he insisted, shutting down everyone's suspicions. 

"Well however you got it, it's beautiful. Thank you. And I hope you liked your gift." she smiled, resting her chin on her palm. 

"I've already had two, and I've got a new card I've never seen. I loved it. Thanks." he nodded, talking about the giant box filled with chocolate frogs Josie got him. Enough to last him through the year, she hoped. She remembered how sad he was when he couldn't get one at their first trip to Hogsmeade, so she wanted to get him some of his favorite things: sweets. 

-

The rest of the day was filled with snacks, watching Ron and Ginny play wizard's chess (which Ron was amazing at), going outside midday to throw snowballs at each other, and relaxing by the fireplace before everyone went to get cleaned up for the Christmas feast. Josie pulled Hermione up to their room, excited and anxious to show her the dress. 

"My mum had it made special for me," Josie said as she pulled it out of the wardrobe, earning a gasp from Hermione. 

"It's beautiful!" Hermione insisted, analyzing the dress further. "You are gonna be the prettiest one down there!" Josie laughed at her friend's statement, shaking her head. 

"It's a bit formal, I guess, but I've got nowhere else to wear it." 

"No, it'a perfect. I'll wear a nice dress, too!" Hermione smiled, rummaging through her clothes until she pulled out a pale blue, long sleeve dress. It wasn't as fancy as Josie's, but it was still so pretty. 

The girls quickly dressed themselves and made their way back down to the common room, earning whistles from the two boys left; Fred and George. 

"Lookin' good, ladies," George smirked. 

"Very good, Georgie." Fred nudged his brother, earning giggles from the girls as they went down to dinner. 

The room wasn't as filled as it usually was for feasts since most of the school was gone home, but the voices of the few that were there echoed against the stone walls as the girls entered the room. The chatter seemed to cease immediately when they made their way to their friends. 

Harry glanced up to his friends and, taken back by the sight of how fancy they looked, coughed as he choked on his food for a second. Ron patted his friend's back before glancing up to the girls, his eyes falling on Josie. 

Hermione sat down, immediately making conversation with the lot. Josie, however, was still standing there, a bit too nervous to sit. She felt very confident wearing the dress, but now that Ron was sitting here in front of her, she felt as though she could shrink and hide away forever. Her cheeks flushed as she swallowed hard, reaching up and grabbing the small pendant necklace; it calmed her. 

Harry was talking about quidditch to Ginny and Hermione but once Ron stood up, they fell silent. His eyes never left Josie's as he stood. There she goes again, her heart beating faster and faster as he took a few steps towards her. She braced herself as she saw him gather some words to say. 

"You look-" he started, clearing his throat, "amazing- You look amazing, Josie." he pushed out, smiling in relief that he got the words out without puking. Ginny giggled behind him, but Josie was too focused on Ron to care. 

"Thanks," she said softly, not being able to say anything else as she watched his eyes travel down her body, then lift back to hers. She was conflicted, feeling like she wanted him to continue looking but also feeling like she might die if he kept it up. Thankfully, he sat back down, letting Josie collect herself before she sat right across from him. 

Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were all looking at the two of them with satisfied grins. Josie pulled her gaze from Ron to look at her other friends. 

"What?" she asked, looking down to her now filled plate. 

"Oh nothing," Hermione laughed quietly to Ginny. 

"So when's the wedding?" Ginny snickered, causing Hermione to laugh even louder as she smacked her shoulder. Josie normally would've retaliated, but she was just too vulnerable right now. She could only match Ron as they both blushed and avoided each other's eyes. 

"We're only joking, relax." Ginny said, but giggled to Hermione right after. Josie knew they didn't mean any harm by it, and she actually joined in with a soft giggle. She was elated, this had been the best Christmas ever. And it wasn't even over yet. 

\- 

It had been a few hours after dinner when the group made their way back to the common room, changing into their pajamas and showing off their gifts. Ginny played a game of Exploding Snaps with Harry, she could barely keep her eyes off of him. Josie smirked to herself, everyone knew she had the biggest crush on Harry. It was adorable. 

Hermione went off to bed early, insisting she needed to start on next term's coursework right away. Josie sat on the sofa once again, right next to Ron. They always seemed to gravitate towards each other at the end of the day. Ginny and Harry were at a small table in the corner, so they were pretty much alone again. 

"So you liked your present?" Ron questioned quietly, leaning closer to Josie so they would have a private conversation. Josie nodded fast. 

"I loved it. It was a really thoughtful gift, Ron. I just hope you didn't spend too much on me." she frowned, holding the pendant yet again. His eyes flashed to her hand, smiling as he watched her hold it. 

"You're worth it, Josie." his eyes flickered up to hers, the adrenaline rushing back into her veins. She was speechless, she never heard him say such kind words. "All of my friends are." 

Friends. 

There it was. The moment she knew exactly where she stood with him. The adrenaline quickly vanished again, her smile fading. Today had been amazing, one of the best she's had in years, and it was all ruined over one simple word. 

"Yeah," she said weakly, looking away, "of course." 

Ron furrowed his brows, noticing the shift of her attitude. She had been smiling and happy all day, but within the last few seconds something had changed. She had closed herself off to him, right when he was starting to feel a bit more confident around her, too. 

They sat in silence before Josie stood, trying her hardest to hide the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. 

"Merry Christmas, Ron. Goodnight." she nodded, hurrying past him and making her way up to her room. Once she got to her bed, she let the tears fall. She shouldn't be upset, she knew how Ron felt about her. But hearing him blatantly friend-zone her hurt. And it hurt bad. 

She laid down in her bed, sniffling to herself as she cried quietly. She knew she was being ridiculous for being this upset, but she couldn't help it. The day had been ruined in just a matter of one word. She knew Ron didn't owe her anything, especially nothing like telling her she was special. She knew she was just another one of his friends, and she had to accept that. 

The room around her slowly faded as she drifted off to sleep, tears drying on her cheeks as Gemini placed herself next to Josie's head, purring softly and going to sleep, just like her owner.


	11. a bit of time

After the Christmas holiday, students returned to school quickly, less than eager to continue their studies. The castle was quiet and cold without the liveliness of Josie's peers, although Fred and George tried their best to entertain the remaining Gryffindors with their pranks and hijinks. They bewitched snowballs to chase after Malfoy and his cronies, convinced a couple of first years that Peeves was plotting something big against them, causing them to freak out over the smallest noises and movements. They brought a lot of laughter and joy to the castle, but no matter how funny or charming they were, they couldn't seem to cheer Josie up at all. 

She did her best to avoid Ron at all costs without seeming too distant. She would sit with her friends at the Great Hall table and in the common room casually, but didn't engage in further conversation with him. She talked to Hermione like normal, and Harry didn't really talk to her much at all usually. Ron didn't really notice the difference, she realized. He was usually too oblivious to really pay enough attention to things like this. Although him and Hermione were outright feuding. 

Crookshanks seemed to make it his goal to chew Scabbers to bits. Ron tried to keep him close in the safety of his robes, but Crookshanks couldn't help himself - he seemed to have a vendetta against the poor rat. Hermione and Ron spent most of their time arguing with each other, while Josie and Harry watched quietly. 

January came swiftly, a quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin happening right away. Slytherin won, to every other houses' disappointment. Gryffindor was still in good standing for the Quidditch Cup, they just had to beat Ravenclaw in their match scheduled sometime in March. Harry seemed to perk up with happiness and excitement since he received a Firebolt broomstick from an anonymous source for Christmas, but Hermione felt it was most likely bewitched and reported it to Professor McGonagall, who confiscated it. 

Now Hermione was enemy number one in both Harry and Ron's eyes, seeming to only have Josie left on her side. Josie understood why she did it, a mass murderer was after him, it could have been from Sirius Black for all they knew. She didn't dare voice her opinion when the topic of discussion came up. 

-

After dinner, Josie sat with Ron and Hermione in the common room, working on her dream journal for Divination, watching the pair in front of her shoot glares across the table and frequent huffs of frustration. Harry wasn't there, he didn't give them an explanation as to why he wouldn't be joining them for homework, so the remaining three were left suspicious. Josie tried to focus on her homework instead of thinking about why he wasn't there when a sudden argument broke out between her friends.

"If you'd just get rid of that bloody cat-"

"He didn't kill your rat, Ronald." Hermione hissed back, angrily scribbling her quill on the parchment. 

"Well he's gone- what do you reckon happened? Hm?" Ron dropped his quill, glaring over to her. She shrugged with a certain smugness about her.

"Maybe he just ran off and died, he was old, you know," she suggested, "he was twelve, wasn't he? How many common rats live that long?" 

"He was special! And your cat killed him! Just admit it!" Ron yelled, slamming his hand down on the wooden table. Hermione didn't jump, to Josie's surprise, she delivered the same slam of her own hand instead.

"Crookshanks didn't do anything!" she boomed in Ron's face. Josie had enough, she couldn't take this pointless arguing over something so petty. She slammed her journal shut, rolling her eyes and storming out of Gryffindor Tower, slamming the portrait door shut behind her. Hermione and Ron continued to scream at each other as Josie walked down the corridor and down a few staircases towards the now empty classrooms. 

Pulling her robe closed even more due to the coolness in the air, she stomped her way down the hall until she heard some more yelling, but this didn't seem to be arguing, it sounded like someone shouting a spell she had never heard of. She watched her feet as she walked towards the noises, walking slow to minimize the noise she was making. 

"Expecto Patronum!" she heard a voice cry, then the sound of whooshing air. She jumped slightly at the sudden noise of what sounded like a trunk slamming shut. She walked closer towards the empty History of Magic classroom, the door being slightly ajar.

"Harry, are you alright?" she heard Professor Lupin frantically ask whoever he was in there with. She gasped slightly when Harry answered.

"Yeah, I'm alright," 

"Eat this before we try again, and don't worry, I didn't expect you to get it on your first try."

Josie crept closer to the slightly open door, peeking in with her eyes at the sight. Harry and Lupin were standing in front of a brown leather trunk, both of their wands out. She figured they must have been practicing spells, but she wasn't aware that Lupin offered tutoring. 

The pair continued to talk, quieter now so Josie wasn't able to hear their words. She was actually about to turn around and return to her common room until she saw Harry take a stance in front of the trunk, holding his wand at the ready. Lupin grabbed the top of the trunk and pulled greatly, releasing a dark, cloaked figure. Josie's blood ran cold, she was about to run from the room that contained a dementor, but she stayed long enough to witness Harry defend himself.

"Expecto Patronum! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he roared, holding his wand out high in front of him. A huge, silver shadow bursted out of the tip of his wand, shielding him from the dementor. Lupin laughed triumphantly as Harry pushed the dementor back into the trunk, slamming it shut then giving Harry another piece of chocolate. 

"Brilliant, Harry," Lupin said breathlessly, "but that was only a boggart, the real thing will be much more difficult. This is highly advanced magic, I'm very impressed." 

Josie was shocked, why was Professor Lupin teaching Harry advanced spells? She figured she would be caught if she were to stay and watch any longer, so she turned on her heels and hurried up the staircase and back into Gryffindor Tower. She was planning on speeding past her other friends, not interested in hearing more arguments, but Ron sat at the table, alone. 

She felt conflicted, she didn't want to talk to him necessarily, but it would be rude to ignore him. She slowed herself as she walked to the table he sat at, clutching the head of the wooden chair in her hands, looking down at the red haired boy. He looked up from his messy writing, an oblivious smile forming on his face.

"Where'd you go?" he questioned, tilting his head slightly. Josie didn't want to admit that she was spying on Harry and Lupin, so she decided to keep this new information to herself. She shook her head slightly.

"Nowhere, just needed a walk," she replied coldly, not returning the annoyingly adorable smile on his face. She didn't expect him to pick up on her stiffness, since he usually didn't ever, but his smile disappeared, replaced by a confused frown. 

"What's the matter?" he asked, rolling up his parchment. Josie continued to remain calm, not wanting to get into an argument, especially since she knew she was wrongfully upset at him. 

"I'm fine, just gonna go to bed," she forced a small smile. She continued to clutch the chair, her knuckles turning white from her grip. She could feel the pent up anger and hurt welling up inside her, threatening to spill over the surface, but she needed to contain herself in front of him. He didn't understand, and he had the right not to. 

"'Mione's gone to bed, too," he nodded, his eyes traveling down to her hands that held the chair with fury, "you sure you're okay?" She just wished he would stop asking her that, she was obviously not okay. But he was Ron Weasley, and Ron Weasley was sort of oblivious if you haven't noticed yet. 

"I'm fine, Ron." she spat, taking a short breath as she released the chair from her grip. Josie met his eyes once again, sensing his random concern. He was almost never concerned over her wellbeing, so what was so different now? 

"Alright," he nodded, gathering his homework, "goodnight, then." 

Josie stared at him as he stood, collecting her own work, holding her journal under her arm. In the back of her mind, she wished he would stop her from going up to the dormitories. Whether it was to ask her about Divination homework or just talk about quidditch again, she didn't care. Josie missed spending time with him, but she decided after Christmas she would avoid hurting herself even further; after all, he did confirm his feelings for her as friends. 

The two of them separated at the stairs, it took everything in her to not look back to check if he was watching her walk away. Taking deep breaths and praying Hermione and the girls were fast asleep, but to her dismay, Hermione was still awake in her bed, scribbling away at work. She perked up when Josie entered the room, grinning excitedly as she put her quill and ink away.

"Josie, come read my essay, I've just finished," she insisted, holding out her long parchment filled with tiny cursive words. Josie dropped her things on her bed near Gemini, taking a shaky breath to contain herself as she made her way to her friend, sitting and taking the paper from her. 

"It's really long," Josie nodded slowly, trying to fake enthusiasm. Hermione was the opposite of Ron, she could instantly pick up on anyone's emotions. She snatched the paper out of Josie's hands, giving her a serious look.

"What's wrong?" she beckoned, putting the roll to the side, turning to her friend. Josie didn't know if she could hold her emotions in much longer, Hermione didn't know about her conversation with Ron after the Christmas feast, but she figured it was time to confide in her.

"You know when you, Ginny, and Harry went off to bed before me and Ron, on Christmas Day?" she started, turning to her friend who now displayed a curious expression, "something happened after you left, and-" 

"What?" Hermione blurted out, her eyes wide. Josie shook her head, continuing:

"Nothing like that happened, 'Mione, we talked," she insisted, looking down at her hands, "he asked about the necklace, I told him it was amazing but I didn't want him spending that much money on me.." 

"What did he say to that?" Hermione questioned, tilting her head curiously. Josie shook her head again, the painful memory of that night replaying in her mind. She felt like her heart was being squeezed to a pulp.

"He said I was worth it," she inhaled sharply, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, "and then he said that all of his friends are." Hermione's mouth fell open, Josie was thankful she understood how painful his comment was. 

"Josie," she started, holding her hand securely for comfort, "I'm so sorry, he can be so thick sometimes." Tears fully formed in her eyes now, on the verge of spilling over on to her cheeks. 

"I shouldn't even be upset, Hermione," she explained, "he doesn't owe me anything, especially not a confirmation that I'm special to him." 

"You have a right to be upset, though, Josie." she insisted with pleading eyes. "You like him, of course you're gonna be upset when he says something like that." 

"I just need to get over it," Josie ignored Hermione's sensible response, "I can't act cross with him forever. I'll be fine, just need a bit time to heal, I suppose." 

"But Josie-"

"I'll be fine, Hermione." Josie insisted, squeezing her hand gently. Hermione sighed, realizing there was no getting through to Josie. 

The two girls eventually fell asleep after a bit of awkward silence then casual girl-talk. It made Josie feel better when her and Hermione could just gossip or talk about anything other than Ron. 

\- 

January left just as quick as it came, and February brought an even colder weather with it. The castle grounds were covered in snow, and it frequently flurried, making for a very chilly atmosphere. 

Josie sat with her friends in the Great Hall for breakfast just before classes were to start. Ron was doing what he does best, scarfing down food like it was about to grow legs and walk off his plate. Harry ate silently next to Hermione as she skimmed over the latest copy of the Daily Prophet. The whole room was quiet until a shrill gasp came from Hermione's lips. 

"Look," she laid the newspaper out in front of her friends, who looked down at it intently, "it says the Minister's given the dementors permission to perform The Kiss on Sirius Black when they catch him!" 

Josie pulled her brows into a furrow, skimming over the article half-heartedly. She didn't know what "The Kiss" was, but according to Hermione's gasp, it probably wasn't good. She went on to explain to her friends what that meant for Black, but Josie found herself analyzing the moving mugshot of the criminal on the front page. 

He had long, dark hair that was matted and messy. He held the plaque that displayed his prisoner number, barring his teeth as he inaudibly screamed. He had terribly yellow teeth, which were shielded behind a shocking grin. Beyond the dirt and roughness, he was quite handsome. He had a full beard, but beyond that he held a small birthmark on his neck, right below his ear. If you weren't closely looking at him, you might even miss it. 

"It's worse than death," Hermione finished, realizing none of them were really listening. 

"He deserves it then, doesn't he?" Harry retorted. None of them answered him, knowing he had the right to feel that way about Black. 

\- 

The rest of February was quite uneventful for Josie, to say the least. It took a while, but she eventually felt like she could go back to normal with Ron. She still sat up at night with the memory of that night, wishing it would've ended differently, but there was nothing she could do now. They were back to being friends, but the same couldn't be said for him and Hermione. They were now completely ignoring each other, not even communicating during classes. Josie was often left in the middle, feeling the need to choose Hermione over Ron every time since she was closer to her. 

As March appeared, the Gryffindor common room was buzzing with excitement for the match against Ravenclaw. Josie wasn't planning on attending this one due to the extreme cold, but Ron insisted both her and Hermione attend to support Harry and the team. It didn't take much convincing to persuade her to go, she found herself getting excited over seeing Harry use his new Firebolt. 

Pulling on her thick winter jacket, Josie made her way out to the pitch with her friends. They took their usual spot at the highest point in the stands, the air thinning as they ascended. the whole of Gryffindor House was there to cheer their team on, so the stands were extra crowded. Last time she went to a match, she made it a point to stand next to Ron, but now she made the effort to put Hermione in between them, because even though she was cool with him again, she still wanted to keep him at a distance. 

Cheers from all four houses erupted as both teams lifted into the air, the match starting immediately. Josie enjoyed watching them play, but she would never dream of actually playing Quidditch. She was more of a cheerleader than a player. 

The match went on for a while until Harry Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw seeker, were neck and neck after the Snitch. Perhaps it was fate that brought Josie's gaze away from the action and down to the snowy grass, but she gasped when she saw four cloaked figures making their way out to the field. She squinted to get a better look, and clenched her fists when she recognized that shiny blonde hair. 

Her attention was brought back to the seekers as Chang screamed frightened at the scene bellow them because Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint were dressed like dementors. Josie expected Harry to faint again, but then she remembered his secret training with Lupin. He pulled his wand out and yelled;

"Expecto Patronum!" 

The same silvery burst of mist shot out of his wand, and he continued until the snitch was in his grasp, securing the win for Gryffindor. Josie hurried down onto the field with Hermione and Ron, followed by the rest of the house, congratulating Harry on winning. He was thrilled that he had conquered the 'dementors', but Lupin broke the news that it was just Malfoy and his friends. 

\- 

Later that day, a small celebration was held in the common room in leu of their win. Fred and George snuck off after the match, bringing back snacks from Honeydukes a few hours later. Food, candy, and butterbeer were supplied, and everyone was having a blast; except for Hermione. 

Harry tried to convince her to leave her homework and join in on the festivities, but she wouldn't budge. Josie had just left the table Hermione was sitting at, needing to tip off her butterbeer. She made her way to the keg-like container, filling her goblet as a familiar set of twins marched up to her. 

"Avery," George grinned, crossing his arms.

"Enjoy the match?" Fred asked, leaning back against the stone wall as he sipped from his goblet. Josie smiled, nodding enthusiastically. 

"Yeah! You two did great," she compliment, sipping her own drink. Fred flashed a small grin to his twin before looking back to Josie.

"Too bad you didn't get a wink from ole' Freddie this time, eh?" George nudged his twin, chuckling deeply. Fred shook his head, keeping his grin.

"Don't mind my brother, he's a bit of a loon." Fred insisted. Josie didn't know what to say, so she laughed it off. 

"Didn't know that wink was really for me back in October, Freddie." she sipped her drink, peering up to him. To her surprise, his confident grin fell as he cleared his throat, standing up straight. 

"It wasn't," Fred shook his head, "it was for Ron, obviously." Josie pushed out a giggle, nodding in response just as Ron himself walked up to the three. He had a concerned expression, his eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth tight. 

"Talking about anything interesting, boys?" he looked to his brothers, who instantly regained their mischievous looks.

"Can't last more than five minutes away from her, can you, Ickle Ronnikins?" Fred smirked, causing Ron's face to screw up, his cheeks growing red.

"Shut up," he denied, growing visibly angry. Josie's eyes darted towards Ron, studying his face. He seemed be to angry yet again that she was talking to his brothers. Josie couldn't think of a good reason as to why he should be, the twins were harmless. 

"Ooh, feisty tonight, little bro?" Fred taunted, earning a supportive chuckle from George. She could see from his clenched jaw that Ron was getting more upset. 

"Josie, can I talk to you?" Ron blurted out, his eyes flickered to hers, almost begging her to come with him, but Josie wasn't so easily led astray. 

"What about?" Josie asked, smirking playfully behind the goblet as she sipped. 

"I- I just need to talk to you- about the dream journals." he spit out, frantically looking towards his brothers then back to her, Josie could hear in his voice that he was lying. 

"If you've got a question about your homework, ask Hermione. She's the smart one, remember?" said Josie, her grip on her goblet tightening. 

"It's a question for you, not her." he sighed, shifting his weight to one foot as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest. 

"Then why can't your brothers hear it?" she pushed further, almost wanting to push him over the edge to see if he would pop. For what, she didn't know. He had no reason to be mad. 

"It's private, Josie, c'mon!" Ron demanded, his voice sounding harsh, making Josie jump slightly. He's never raised his voice at her, it took her off guard. She decided it was the best option to just go with him. 

"Fine," she said, putting her goblet down and following him to the corner closest to the fireplace and window they had their last private conversation at. His demeanor changed instantly once out of the company of his brothers, his shoulders were back to their usual slumping ways, relaxed instead of tense, as was his jaw. 

"What is it?" she spoke after leaning against the wall, holding her right arm with her left hand, glancing up to him. The fire at his side made a shadow cast over his face, half of it lit brightly and glistening. 

"I," Ron started, avoiding her gaze, "I just wanted your opinion on a dream I had." Josie's brows furrowed angrily, was he really asking her to interpret a dream of his, right now? 

"Fine, go on, then." she sighed angrily, unhappy with his reasoning for pulling her away from the twins. Ron cleared his throat and stuffed one hand into his pocket, the other reaching up to scratch the back of his neck as a nervous grin appeared on his face. 

"Well, erm- It started with me flying on my Cleansweep back at home, but then I went limp and fell to the ground- and when I hit the ground, it wasn't hard, it was-" he paused breathlessly, almost like he was trying to think of what to say next, "the ground turned to snow. What do you think about that?" 

Josie stared at him blankly. It was obvious that he was pulling this out of nowhere, but why was he lying to her in the first place? She decided to go along with it. 

"It means that there will be more snow, probably." she explained, nodding slowly, catching a glance at Harry who was across the room with the twins, laughing and having a good time. "Why don't you go hangout with your friends?" Ron's nose crinkled, his posture stiffening. 

"You are my friend," he insisted, looking utterly confused. Josie couldn't help but scoff and turn to face the rest of the room, pressing her back into the wall. 

"Yeah, I know." she muttered, looking away from him and watching the rest of her house have fun without her. 

"Okay, what is your problem?" Ron questioned a second later, his voice growing harsh again. Josie snapped her neck to look at him with a glare. 

"There is no problem, Ronald." she hissed, gritting her teeth a little. Ron raised a brow. 

"You never call me that," he groaned, "only Hermione calls me that, and she's usually cross with me. So what is it, then? What did I do?" 

Josie paused for a moment. This was an opportunity for her to explain her feelings and how painful it was to repeatedly hear how good of friends they were. But she decided against it, vowing to swallow her feelings for him. 

"You didn't do anything," she lied, "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." 

"You're lying, Josie," he accused, "you've been off with me since Christmas. Was it the gift? Did you not like it or something?" 

"I loved the gift, Ron," Josie answered, her hand traveling to her neck, grasping the star pendant gently. No matter how upset she was with him, she didn't take the necklace off. 

"Then what is it?" he insisted, leaning forward with his hands now on his hips, an expression full of frustration displayed on his face. Josie wanted so badly to just come out and say it, tell him that she fancied him, and then maybe the tiptoeing around him would cease. But she couldn't, in fear of what he would say. 

Josie pushed herself back to a standing position, shaking her head towards him, still holding the pendant. 

"I love the necklace, Ron. It's late, I should get to bed," her eyes flickered up to his as she spoke. 

"You're always running off to bed," he huffed, rolling his eyes and turning away from her. Josie's heart sank, now he was obviously upset with her. 

"Goodnight, Ron." she managed to push out before turning, taking the first step on to the stairs when she turned back, glancing behind her to look at him. He seemed angry for a few seconds until Harry came up to him, then the same oblivious smile appeared again. 

Hurrying to her room, she was relieved to see it was still empty. She went to her wardrobe, pulling the door open to reveal her clothes and a small mirror hanging by a hook. She looked into it at her reflection, sighing sadly. She analyzed what she saw, going over her features until she saw something that she hadn't seen before. A small birthmark sat just beneath her ear on her neck. Her heart sank, her blood ran cold. She had never even seen that before, had she just casually missed it? Or was it new? It didn't matter how or when it got there, all that mattered was that the picture of Sirius Black had the same birthmark in the same spot. It had to be a coincidence, or maybe someone had spilled ink over the paper before she saw it. There had to be a reasonable explanation, but she was too tired to think of any. 

Josie pulled herself into her bed after changing, hugging her pillow as she stared outside the window at the slowly falling snow. Her mind drifted back to Ron, she couldn't understand why he got so upset around his brothers, they really meant well. He didn't get that upset when Hermione or Harry are around them, so why was it just her? 

Maybe I'm not good enough to be friends with him, and he's embarrassed of me, she thought to herself as she chewed her lip. A million more upsetting thoughts raced through her head as she fell asleep, yet she still clung onto the little star pendant on the necklace he got for her.


End file.
